The X-Games
by InconsciousSin
Summary: Red X has returned as Slade's new apprentice and has set his sites on Starfire; however, Slade isn't about to just let his new apprentice end their contract. In fact, he's still looking to get back his old apprentice as well-Robin. Who will win the heart of the alien princess? What lengths will Slade take to get what he wants? Horrible at summ..Angst/drama/action & a lovetriangle
1. Prologue: Shattered

Prologue: _Shattered_

 _It's all my fault._

"Her heat signal is still nowhere in the tower."

 _It's been two days and I already feel like an entire piece of me has been ripped away._

 _"_ Her communicator is still offline. I'll try to hack the cities computer system; we can search for her through the city cameras, see if any of them caught a glimpse of her."

 _How could I have been so stupid? So selfish? So horrible to her?_

"Alright, we're in. So far I'm not picking up anything though…"

 _If something happened to her, I don't know what I'd do._

"What if she went home, dude? Like, 'home' home?" _My heart is literally breaking._

"Tamaran? Do you think she was that upset?" _I'm sure she was, and still is. Why do I keep doing this to her?_

"She wouldn't do that. She knows we need her here." _God, if only she knew how much…_

"She might've, man." _Yup. Heart is turning into glass, and falling fast._

"Can you two stop? Let's not jump to any conclusions. Let's look through the city cameras and make sure she isn't just out at the mall or getting pizza or something before we start making rash assumptions."

 _Always the logical one, thank you for the hope, Raven._

"Hopefully she hasn't gotten herself into trouble though. She can be pretty naïve when it comes to the ways of Earth and some of the 'people' she might run into may easily convince her into something…"

 _Wow, thanks, Rae. C'mon, Star. Please be safe, you have to be safe…_

"Found her." Cyborg's voice held no emotion, which lessened my excitement at his words. I took a step closer to the oversized computer screen. He glanced at me with a worried expression, "I don't think you're going to like what you see." My mouth went dry. In any other circumstance, I'd be ecstatic to finally have found one of the criminals I've been obsessing over locating, but not like this. There on the screen, was a slightly fuzzy, black and white image of Starfire standing a little too close to someone I've loathed since the first moment we met. "Red X." His name was acid, spewing out from behind my gritted teeth. His hand reached up to caress Starfire's face, and she placed her hand against his, holding it to her cheek. She was smiling at him with a smile I thought she had only ever reserved for me.

 _My heart of glass finally hit the floor: shattered._

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is short, but it's just the prologue. I plan to upload chapter one either tonight sometime, or at the latest, tomorrow.**

 _ **Sneak Peak...**_

 _"Chapter One: The Game Begins"_

 _The team enjoys a relaxing night; Red X returns._


	2. Chapter One: And The Game Begins

**Author's Note: I've already almost completed this story. I'm really enjoying writing it, to be honest. It's been a long while since I've gotten into writing Teen Titans fanfiction, so reviving my long time love of these characters has been quite an adventure! Please, enjoy, and let me know what you think so far.**

 **Mmm, also, a bit of a warning to those of you who have never read any of my stories before...I allow cursing in my stories, as well as violence (some graphic, depending on where the story takes me) and sexual topics as well. If any of these make you uncomfortable, I apologize in advance and advise you to stop reading now. I'm not saying I take it to the extremes (not EVERY time) but I do go where the story takes me. Can't make any promises.**

 **For those of you that are still reading, welcome to the dark side. haha (just kidding, kind of) Enjoy! (:**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.**

* * *

Chapter One: _And The Game Begins_

"I do not believe I want it."

"C'mon, just try it!"

"I believe this is a trick of the treats, yes?"

"…That's not exactly how that phrase goes, and it's not even Halloween, Starfire. So no."

"And why would we trick you? Try it already!"

"I am… the scared."

"Don't be, Star. I'm— _we're_ right here. It'll be okay." Robin flashed the alien girl a nervous yet encouraging smile, hoping no one caught his slip up. She returned his smile, but still looked slightly unsure. The rest of the team seemed to be growing ever impatient over the alien girl's hesitation. What was the big deal? She had fed them all much worse. Her 'gluba…sherpin..' or whatever alien dishes she decided to whip up and force upon her friends, yet she was this hesitant over something so simple? So _normal?_

Beast Boy's chin was resting on the side of the table with a slight pout of impatience plastered on his face. Cyborg was attempting to be encouraging, his oversized palm resting upon Starfire's shoulder. Raven had been genuinely (but no so obviously) excited to introduce Starfire to something new that she too actually secretly loved, but had since grown bored with this back and forth of trying to convince the naïve girl that it was safe and not some kind of hoax on her behalf. She had a dusty old book in her hands, its tattered cover was shielding all of her pale features except the upper portion of her eyes. Robin, as per use, was sitting patiently beside the foreign beauty, resting his hand over hers. It looked like an innocent gesture; a guiltless touch of encouragement from one friend to the other but if anyone were to see what was going on inside of Robin with just this touch: the quickened pulse, the fluttering bubbles in his stomach, the lack of any thought other than _her_ ; they would see it was more than just a friendly touch for him.

He quickly pushed down the rising blush at the thought of how intimate this touch could've been, and lifted the fork still sitting untouched on the table, using it to scoop up a small piece of the fluffy, off-white substance and held it out for Starfire to taste. "Just one taste. Trust us; are you ready?" Robin spoke in a soft, comforting tone and gave her another reassuring smile. She took in a deep breath, wrinkled her nose, then slowly closed her eyes and opened her mouth for Robin to feed it to her. He happily obliged and carefully placed the end of the fork slightly past her lips so she could do the rest. She chewed softly, moving it around in her mouth as if still questioning its taste. Immediately after swallowing the substance, Starfire let out a happy "eep!" sound and clapped her hands together. "Wonderful! This cake of the cheese is marvelous!"

Robin flashed her a crooked smile; her innocent naivety of Earth was always something that Robin secretly enjoyed. He loved how excited Starfire would get over simple things that his fellow earthlings, and even himself, took advantage of daily. It was humbling. And he also, selfishly, loved being the one to show her these things. "See? I told you it wasn't going to taste like 'cheese' on cake."

With the winter holidays coming up, the team was sitting around and talking about some of their favorite holiday treats. When Raven admitted that one of her favorites was cheesecake (after much, much prodding from Beastboy to 'join in'), Starfire had made a very disgusted face, assuming that this particular dessert was something along the lines of a frosting covered birthday cake with layers of sliced cheddar cheese on top of it. The team immediately decided they would have to show her what it _really_ was.

The overjoyed alien snatched the fork from Robin and quickly began to devour the rest of her slice within only mere seconds. The rest of the team laughed happily, watching their excited teammate enjoy the dessert they had finally convinced her to try.

"Hey, I want a slice too!" Beastboy shouted, grabbing up a plate and placing a slice of the delicate dessert onto it with Cyborg and Robin quickly following suit. Raven, shockingly, set down her book and also grabbed a slice. Just as she was about to take a bite, everyone stopped and stared at her. "What?" She shrugged, placing the bite in her mouth, "I told you it was my favorite." Beastboy felt his heart leap just a little, as it did on any of the rare occasions that Raven decided to show even a little emotion, then he continued munching on his cheesecake.

It had been an easy week in the crime department; not much has happened other than Old Miss Millbrooke's cat getting stuck in the tree, a few lowly criminals attempting break ins around the city, and maybe one or two appearances from Mad Mod that were quickly ended with a trip to the city prison. Honestly, the team had enjoyed the lack of mischief and have used this time to build as a team and as friends. It has been almost a year now since they had last faced off against one of their greatest enemies, Slade, and since finally defeating him, not many 'big name' criminals dared to come out of hiding and rise up. It was as if they had finally realized just how terrifyingly tough the Titans really were after taking out one of the most well-known names in the criminal world. All was going smoothly for the Titans. They hadn't ever caught the infamous thief known as Red X, but even he seemed to vanish long ago. All was looking well for the young heroes; Robin no longer had anything to obsess over (well, _almost_ anything), the team was slowly introducing more earthly things to Starfire, and even Raven seemed to include herself more into the random shenanigans that her friends would come up with.

Unfortunately, that peace would only last so long. What the Titans didn't know was that Slade was in fact still alive and well and plotting his next move. And of course, Red X had never truly left. In fact, he was there watching from the lone ledge of the lighthouse not far from the tower, as the team laughed at their mini triumph in the kitchen. This was not the first night for him, on this lone ledge, for he had been keeping tabs on the Titans for a while now.

 **XXXXXX**

I laid down on my side, lazily holding up my head with one of my hands and yesterday's newspaper spread out on the ground in front of me. I would casually look up after glazing over a page to make sure the Titans hadn't done anything "crazy" while I was reading. So far the only interesting thing in this boring city and its boring newspaper was that a "big time villain" from Gotham had been sighted in Jump a couple of times over the past month, leading the police department to believe he has either relocated or has some kind of connections here in the city. It was true, that he had connections here. Slade had mentioned the name, "Joker" to me a few times, but I don't think I was really listening because no facts about the man were coming to me at the moment. All I knew was he was a big deal and supposedly rather dangerous. I chuckled at the horribly stenciled black and white photo of an insane looking clown, surrounded by a few other crazed looking carnival workers. These guys were supposed to be _dangerous?_ This news hadn't even made the front page; what made the front page, you may ask? Some old lady's goddamn cat getting stuck in a goddamn tree and being rescued by-you guessed it! The Teen Titans. "This city, man." I rolled my eyes before crumpling up the papers and lazily tossing the bundle over my shoulder and turned my attention back to my targets. I laid like this and stared through the windows of the tower for what felt like hours until finally they all seemed to part ways and head for their rooms. The robot one; Cyborg, I believe, stayed behind to shut down everything in the main room then enabled the security system (as if that could keep me out.). I had to let out a chuckle at their feeble attempts at safety.

I was about to head back to my own humble abode until I heard the sound of rusty metal hinges being carefully turned. I stayed where I was, watching once more as the lone alien beauty attempted to quietly close the door to the roof then flew over to sit on the edge of the tower; her legs dangling over the edge. My eyes traced over her delicious features from those tanned legs leading up to her slender torso and of course those perfectly sculpted breasts. I silently whistled; if all aliens looked like her, the next thing I would be stealing is a spacesuit and some intergalactic condoms. "Damn." She always was fun eye candy whenever I played with the Titans, but I found myself craving more. There was something inside of me that was itching, _aching_ for more than just a dessert for my eyes to enjoy. I needed a bite of that tasty little treat. She was like a forbidden fruit that no one else had ever had the pleasure of enjoying yet and I knew I wanted to be the first to take a nibble.

Then, naturally, the bird boy appeared and sat down beside her and therefore ending my fantasy. I growled. What did he think was going to happen? Nothing! I've watched their interactions for months now, and he was pathetic to say the least. He never even came close to sealing the deal; he was nothing like _me._ What did he think, she was going to wait forever for him to man up and finally claim her? Just from what I've seen of the girl, I knew that wouldn't be the case. After everything I've seen of these two, I've began to pick up on the subtle hints from Starfire that she too was craving more, far more than what her precious Robin seemed willing to give her; things that I _could_ give her.

Watching how Boy Wonder stared at her, smiled at her, _longed_ for her, it only made my need to have her all the more difficult to merely dismiss. Oh yes, this victory would be a fun one. A soft breeze rustled the long hair of my trophy and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep the cold at bay. But of course, Robin wrapped his filthy arm around her shoulders which elicited a gracious smile from the girl. Disgusting. To be fair, kudos, kid, this is the most action I've seen you get since I've started this endeavor. I scoffed, twirling one of my crimson X-shaped blades around my fingers: an anxious habit, really. "I'm bored." I stood up and stretched my arms above my head to relieve them of that obnoxious tingling sensation from laying in the same spot for so long. Then, a smile tugged at my lips from behind my mask, "Time for the game to begin."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I've already got chapter two and three done, just making some adjustments to them and then I will be posting them soon too. I don't want to post them until I get chapter four finished (which shouldn't take too long-fingers crossed!)**

 **Let me know what you think so far. It will pick up pace in the next chapter.**

 _ **Sneak Peek:**_

 ** _"Chapter Two: Reunion"_**

 ** _Red X shows up; Robin and him have a face-off; Red X gets a closer "look" at Starfire._**


	3. Chapter Two: Reunion

**Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying the story so far. As I said in my A/N in Chapter One, this is where the story will begin to pick up. Please let me know what you think of the story so far. It's been a while since I've written Teen Titans fanfiction (as I said in my last chapter), so let me know if anything seems out of character, etc.**

 **Disclaimer: Same. Own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

Chapter Two: _Reunion_

 **RRRRR**  
(Robin's POV)

I turned to my fellow teammates after seeing how late it had gotten and suggested we head for bed. It may have been quiet lately, but I wasn't about to let the team slack off in the case that tomorrow someone decided to harm our innocent city. Everyone yawned and stretched before saying their good nights then heading off to their corresponding rooms. Cyborg was the last one left, as he usually was, to power down the tower and turn on the security system. I followed behind Star since my room was only a short walk down the hall from hers. She was flying slightly above the ground, leading the way.

This angelic beauty had saved me so many times, from death and from myself. It was her that always worried whenever I would become too obsessive over catching a criminal. It was her that would try to keep me sane when I was teetering on the edge of insanity. Her touch that would always draw me back to reality. When I was Slade's apprentice, I vividly remember the crestfallen look on her face when she found out I was working with Slade. That look haunts me at night; it's the same look she gave me when I shot her. Slade had activated the bots inside of my teammates when I held back while facing Starfire and had threatened to kill them all if I didn't fight back. I laid Star on the ground in front of me and she reached up a desperate hand to me, praying I would take it and return home with her and the team. I didn't; not yet. But right before I shot her with the energy beam on my wrist, her soft voice said my name…It killed me. Yet, after all of that, she's still here and has never held it against me. I smiled at her back. My smile fell slightly remembering the other time I saw that heartbroken frown on Starfire's usually smiling face. When I had invented Red X to get close to Slade, and yet again, she found out it was me; I thought it was all over at that moment. The worst part was not that I had hurt her as Red X, but afterwards… When I had hurt her as Robin.

" _Robin?" I felt a chill run down my spine. I knew it was inevitable. After what I did, they would all want an explanation. Especially her. I gathered myself before opening my bedroom door; and there she was. A frown was marring her features, her eyes seemed almost dull in the dim light of my bedroom. "Um, what's up, Star?" I already knew. It was a silly question to ask, but I couldn't stand any more than a second of her just staring at me with that disappointed frown._

" _I wish to discuss the Red X. Why is it that you did such a thing without telling me…us? We are a team, Robin. Please, did you not trust us to keep it a secret?" I clenched my fists. Guilt consumed me like a lit match in a puddle of gasoline. I didn't want to lie to her; I shook my head. "I didn't trust you guys at all. To agree to go along with it... to fight me as if I were a true villain and not me in disguise… to keep it a secret… anything. I don't know why, I just…didn't." I ran a hand through my un-gelled hair in frustration. I make the stupidest mistakes, so stupid that I can't even think of a good reason for why the mistake was made in the first place; saying it out loud just sounded so horrible and so ignorant._

 _Star's frown deepened, "Why is it that you lack the trust for us?" I couldn't meet her eyes. Why? I don't know, Star. I'm a loner, I'm not good at this team thing. Aside from Batman, I've always done things alone and depending on other people often leads to failure or disappointment. "I don't like depending on others. I figured that the less people involved in my idiotic scheme, the less people would get hurt." I still couldn't look at her, but I felt her hesitant caress on my shoulder. "We are not so fragile." I let a slight smile tug at the corner of my lip. "I know, Star."_

" _You are my best friend. I would like to know I can trust you, Robin. You have the notion that trust in us, your team, is undeserved yet you are the one that has lost the conviction of us." My stomach did a disgruntled flop at her statement; it was true, but hearing it out loud, from her of all people, made me feel sick. I held my face in my hands, "I know. It'll take a long time to regain your trust and I understand that. I should've trusted you, I know that now. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. We are a team and I screwed up. I can't tell you how sorry I am, especially for hurting you, Star." I reached up and grabbed her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I never wanted to hurt you." She stared down at our hands before that familiar smile finally broke through her disappointed frown. "I know, Robin. But you must learn to trust us. We are your friends, and we will always be here for you. You do not have to do this alone."_

It had been almost two years since I wore that suit, and a little over a year and a half since that thief had stolen it and was flaunting himself around in it as a constant reminder of the mistake I made. Luckily, we haven't seen him in months; twelve months and two weeks to be exact. Since then, the team had finally forgiven me and our friendship was rekindled all thanks to Starfire and her forgiving heart. She was the one to convince the rest of the team that mistakes happen and that I had learned from mine. It took a little longer for everyone to truly move past my deceit, but over time, I've not only regained the trust of my team but our friendship felt almost stronger now.

I was so lost in thought, I almost ran straight into Starfire as she stopped in front of her room. We both paused outside of her door as she hesitated to go in. "Well, I guess…I'll… see you in the morning?" I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. I was really, really bad at this. She luckily didn't seem to notice, throwing her arms around me in a tight, almost too tight, embrace. "Yes, friend Robin. Pleasant shlorvax." She finally released me and I had to take in a slow, staggered breath just to be sure none of my ribs were out of place. "Um, yeah. Good night, Star." She gave me a final wave before flying into her room and shutting the door behind her. I stood, staring at the door for a moment, kicking myself over being such a coward, then made my way to my own room.

 _Dammit!_ I mentally cursed myself, once safe inside my bedroom.

 _Dammit, dammit! Why are you so afraid? Why can't you just tell her how you feel?!_

Because you are a superhero; a leader. She would just be a distraction for you.

 _She's already a distraction._

What would you do if she rejected you? If she didn't feel the same way?

 _She wouldn't! She does… I mean, I think she…._

No. you _hope_ she does. She has never indicated that she feels anything more for you than a friend. Speaking of which, what is it that she called you just a minute ago?

' _Friend Robin.'_

Exactly. Friend, nothing more. Get her out of your mind. Whether or not you pursued this, it will not end well. You of all people should know this. So, get it together, Dick.

 _She doesn't even know that side of me. She doesn't even know the 'me' behind this mask. All she knows is Robin._

Now you are finally talking sense and doing a good job at reiterating my point: leave. This. Alone.

 _I could show her…_

My internal battle was giving me a headache. I suppressed the urge to scream out in frustration and instead opted to snarl under my breath. An anxious hand ran through my hair. "I really need some air…" I gave up any idea of sleep right now, knowing I would only be haunted by her there too. I decided to head to the roof, a place Starfire had actually shown me long ago to be a good spot to go to be alone and think. _There I go thinking about her again._

I pushed the creaky, steel door that opened to the roof. Of course, who was there? None other than, "Starfire, hey." My previous internal battle seemed to dissipate from my mind at the mere sight of her. She turned to give me a shocked smile, obviously not expecting to see me up here at such a late hour. I walked over and sat beside her on the edge of the tower.

"Hello, Robin. What is it you seek to escape from?" Her question threw me off. How did she know I was troubled? As if she had read my mind, she shrugged. "It seems you only come up here when something is troubling you." A dry, humorless laugh left my lips. _You, actually. I came here to escape you. Yeah. Say that, Boy Blunder._ Instead, I decided to ignore the prodding all together and turn the question back on her. "Well, you do the same. Are you alright? Is there something that _you_ came to escape from?" She stared at me with those big, sparkling emerald eyes and I could've just about melted into butter. My heart fluttered softly.

She shook her head slowly, turning her gaze back out towards the gentle sea before us. "I could not sleep." She was fumbling with her fingers in her lap and I knew she had more to say. A breeze from the ocean blew past us, shifting her hair. She held herself in a hug in what appeared to be an attempt to protect her exposed skin to the chill. I don't know what had gotten into me, but I quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against my side. She gave me a look of surprise that quickly shifted into a grateful smile which I happily returned.

"Robin, how do you feel about me?" I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. Did she really just ask that outright? Is that what has been troubling her? I found no words would come to my gaping lips and I just stared at her, moving my jaw up and down in an attempt to compose my jumbled thoughts and remember how to properly speak. "I, um, I er… I just… what?" _God, I'm so smooth._

"What is it I mean to you? It has been troubling to my sleep, for reasons I cannot quite understand. I just need to know." There those piercing eyes were, once again staring past my mask, through the eyes hidden beneath it and into my soul. She just kept staring, waiting. I let out a sigh; I was not going to get out of this. This was it. This was my chance to tell her how I feel about her. She obviously feels something, right? Why else would she be asking? Why else would it be a topic that keeps her awake at night? "Well, Star... I-I'm actually not supposed to... I mean, We're teammates and superheroes and I don't think we should..." I tried, Bruce. I honestly tried to put what you taught me ahead of my own selfish desires. Unfortunately, sitting here, the moonlight illuminating Starfire's every feature in the darkness; the way those emerald eyes were sparkling and staring at me in such a hopeful way, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't pull the whole, _'it's not you, it's me. And my fucked up mentor's rules about dating.'_ I couldn't turn her away. In fact, I found myself levitating closer to her as my words faltered on my tongue. I sucked in a deep gulp of the chilling night air. My arm loosened around her shoulders so that I could instead snake it slowly around her waist and pull her closer to me. My other hand was shaking and sweating beneath my glove as I lifted it up to cup her face. This was it; I was finally going to allow myself to break the rules, to ignore all of my training and finally give in to the aching loneliness inside of me. I felt a sudden burst of courage as I dove to close the remaining space between us. Our lips were just about to finally come together until—

"Well, this is new." Starfire went rigid in my grasp, pulling away from me as we both glared in the direction of the voice. "And here I thought you would never make a move." Red X emerged from the shadows, clapping his hands together slowly. Star and I both rose to our feet and quickly got into a fighting stance. "What the hell are you doing here, X?" I was not happy. He ruined my one chance at showing Star how I felt and of course, I just hated the guy in general, so seeing him again, alive and well, was not pleasant.

Red X lolled his head to the side, placing his hands on his waist, "Robin, I'm hurt. After all of this time—"A starbolt interrupted him, missing his head by barely an inch. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I not paying you enough attention, sweetheart?" He reached into his belt and pulled out something, throwing it towards Starfire. My eyes went wide, "Star, look out!" It was too late. Right before impact, Starfire attempted to fly away from the attack, but the object expanded into a goopy material in a sloppily shaped X that grappled her before she had a chance to maneuver herself out of the way. It made a disgusting wet sound as it stuck to Starfire and threw her along with it back against the wall and the door leading back into the tower. She fought against her binding, but to no avail. She desperately shot her green energy from her eyes at part of the goop, but yet again, it didn't budge.

"You aren't going to be getting out of that any time soon, babe. If I were you, I'd conserve my energy." Red X stated to her as he sauntered towards her. She lifted a confused eyebrow at his statement, "But I am not an infant?" He was muddled by what she meant, which I took as my moment to strike. I grabbed a birdmerang out of my belt and threw it at X, which he dodged by shifting his weight forward towards his captive.

"Nice one, bird boy. You've got some cute toys but seriously," He pulled out another X shaped object and thrust it in my direction, "thanks for the upgrade." It moved at a quick pace towards me, I back flipped to the left to avoid it but he had already thrown another; this one landed at my feet then exploded. Luckily I tumbled to the side just before feeling the wrath of the explosive. I quickly jumped back to my feet, thrusting out my left leg to connect with that hideous skull mask. X's weight was put off momentarily by the strike, so before he had a chance to counter it, I forced my right foot into his gut. He made a disgruntled sound, mumbling something unintelligible under his breath before I prepared a fist; X was ready for this one. He grabbed my fist with his hand, pulling me into him, then jabbed his knee into my pelvis. "You're good, kid." He still had ahold of my fist, so while I gripped my stomach, he spun my arm around and held it against my back. I could feel the material of his mask against the back of my head as he laughed, "But I'm better." He yanked upward on my arm, emitting a pained groan from me. I could feel the stinging ache in my shoulder from having my arm in a position it was not meant to be in.

"Why.. have you come back? After.. all this time?" I was trying to hide the agony in my voice, but knew I was failing. X laughed again, this time more audibly, then shoved his heel into my back and released me from his grasp. I faltered to the ground and attempted to steady myself back on my feet. I glared at the masked stranger. "I got bored." He replied, giving me a shrug as if it were really that simple of an excuse. I scoffed. I held my smarting shoulder, allowing it to slowly rotate until some of the pain had dissipated. X bent down, placing his hands on his thighs. He tilted his head as he stared back at me, "You may wanna put some ice on that." Something about that condescending tone of his pissed me off.

He then tossed a glance at the still captive Starfire. "I'll take care of her while you're gone. I've always wanted to make out with a foreigner." I growled, "Leave her out of this." The muscles in my jaw flexed impulsively at his words; words I hoped Starfire hadn't heard. Trying to explain that to her seemed like it would be…uncomfortable. I wasn't so lucky. I heard her sweet, innocent voice, "Please, what is this, 'make out?'" I could feel the heat in my cheeks rise to an uncomfortable degree. My fingers tugged awkwardly at the collar of my shirt. Red X, on the other-hand, acted as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He chuckled, "Well, cutie, I'd be glad to show you what it means."

All awkwardness vanished; this disgusting pervert was about to get what was coming to him. No one flirts—I mean _talks_ , to Star like that. I released my shoulder, then pulled out another birdmerang and began sprinting towards him before Starfire even had a chance to respond. X saw my fast approach and didn't even attempt to stand up or move out of the way; he merely tossed three more X shaped explosives around my feet. Before I had a chance to dodge them, they all three blew up simultaneously. I felt the heat from the bombs before the power of the detonation thrust me off the roof and over the edge. I was spiraling, falling down towards the icy waters below. The brisk air was unkind as I began my descent down the side of the tower. I could've sworn I heard Starfire's pained cries and worried Red X was hurting her until I heard her shout again, "Robin!" My hands were grasping at the air in a desperate attempt to avoid impacting the sharp rocks below. My mind finally decided to react to what was happening and I pulled out another 'toy', shooting it at the top of the tower. The sharp tips shot out and caught on the edge of the building and I instantly felt myself come to a halt in my journey. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief before going back into hero mode and climbing back up the rope to get to the roof. The trip down may have only lasted seconds, but it certainly took a bit more energy to ascent my way back up. I finally threw my hands over the side, grabbing on to the inch of ledge I could reach. My jaw fell open. My body, trembling only moments before thanks to the frigid free fall, was now numb. My heart may have just dropped four stories in that fun little descent, but it was nothing compared to how far my heart was plummeting after what I saw once I got back up to the roof.

 **XXXXXX**

"Robin!" She was fighting hard against the gelatinous slime cementing her to the door after seeing her precious Wonder Boy fall off the roof. I grabbed her chin in my hand and forced her to meet my gaze. "He's fine." This didn't seem to sit well with her. She snarled, "You… you, Zorkmorking Clorbag!" The tone she used made it sound as if she were cursing, which was just amusing to me, really. I still feigned hurt, of course. "Ouch, such an innocent beauty using such horrid language? Please, don't tarnish your purity on my behalf." This seemed to throw her off kilter. Whether because she was confused by my wording, or because she was wondering if I had truly understood her foreign ramblings, I'm not sure, but she still looked pissed about me throwing her boy toy off the roof. I held up my hands, to show no harm, "I'm telling you, he's fine. He's a hero with a utility belt, remember?" She seemed to calm down a bit at that, but her eyes still darted back to where Robin had been standing only moments ago before meeting my gaze once more. "What is it that you want? Why have you returned?"

Those eyes. To be honest, I had only ever been _this_ close to her one other time. The time I first realized just how powerful that tight little body of hers truly was. She was in a situation almost identical to this one, but we didn't have a true alone moment because those damn friends of hers were there too. I didn't have the time to truly _see_ her. Detail for detail; aside from that body. But now, those eyes; those mesmerizing eyes. A deep emerald spiraling with a mixture of emotions: anger, hurt, fear, and oh so beautiful.

I smiled, though she couldn't see this. "I'm here for _you_ , cutie." That seemed to throw her off. Now those eyes were laced in confusion and what was this… curiosity? "I am afraid I do not understand." My hand moved from holding her chin to cradle her cheek. "Let me help you understand then." Her eyes were still cautious, still wide as they watched me lift the lower half of my mask to reveal my lips while still obscuring my eyes. I placed my other hand against her other cheek so that she could not turn away as I leaned in. In only a moment my lips crashed into hers. Now, I've kissed many girls and I've fucked a lot of girls. But this kiss was somehow so different than any of those times. The moment our lips interlocked, it was as if I had suddenly came alive. My body went numb, the heart I didn't even think I had anymore seemed to swell, and I found it impossible to ever pull away. All coherent thought seemed to have fallen along with the bird boy over the side of the building; all except one. She was now kissing me _back._ Her need and longing was tangible on her lips. I honestly didn't expect it to be so easy. I guess I should thank Boy Wonder for being so horrible at making a move, for emotionally and physically secluding himself from such a clearly lonesome beauty.

My hands moved to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss which she didn't seem to mind. Just as I opened my mouth, flicking my anxious tongue against her lower lip, she seemed to have woken back up. I heard her gasp and she was now alert as to what was happening. She pulled her face out of my grasp. I got one last look into those deep eyes before they began to glow a very angry shade of green. "No, no, this… Leave! Now!" I held up my hands in surrender, taking a cautious step away from her. She was pissed and what else had I seen in her stare… hurt? I had little time to think about it before those potent eyes released two streams of that livid energy, knocking me across the roof and flat on my back. It took me a moment to regain myself, gripping my stomach in agony. She was _definitely_ making this game a lot more interesting, that's for sure.

I caught my breath and tugged my mask back down to cover the rest of my face. "Feisty, aren't we? This is going to be fun." Just as I staggered back to my feet, I saw Starfire stare back to where Robin once stood, now with an ecstatic grin spread across her face. "Robin! You are… unharmed?" He was ignoring her as his fuming glare was directed at me. I chuckled, trying to conceal the fact that my stomach was still burning from the attack. "Hey, sorry, Tweetie. Looks like Sylvester won this one." I jabbed a thumb in the captive alien's direction to animate my meaning. I saw Robin's fists clench a little tighter just as he started sprinting towards me, letting out an irate battle cry. I dodged the attack and was prepared for a fun fight until that annoying little blue light on my wrist began blinking furiously.

"Damn… looks like we have to cut this short." I was still dodging an infuriated Robin's bo-staff strikes, as I reached into a back pocket on my belt and pulled out a small vial. Robin thrust his bo-staff towards my face, so I carefully ducked the attack and slid the vial across the ground to tap against Starfire's foot. "That'll take care of your sticky situation, sweetheart." I gave her a salute before leaping backwards off the side of the giant T. "Catch ya later, kid."

He ran over to the edge as if wanting to watch me go 'splat' but instead, I hit a button on my belt and evaporated into thin air. As soon as my finger hit the button to teleport me, my smile fell. I knew I was in trouble. I wasn't supposed to make an appearance: not yet, and not like this. The boss man was not going to be pleased with me, that's for sure. I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding the moment my feet touched ground in that dark, dank hallway I had grown to know all too well. The elation and pure kid-like joy I was feeling only moments ago while standing alone with Starfire was gone now and buried back deep within the confines of my cold heart.

The long walk down this hallway always seemed to remind me just who I am and what I am. Each echoing step against the cold, wet slabs of concrete beneath my boots seemed to be mocking me. I tried to replace this ever present ominous shadow looming over me by thinking back to how warm and inviting those lips felt against mine. How she had actually kissed me back, for quite a lot longer than I expected her to. The corner of my lip tilted up slightly behind my mask at the memory, but only for a split second.

I was out of the hallway and now standing in a large room. The ceiling was high and the wall in front of me was covered in different computer screens. In front of them was an oversized chair, more like a throne, with a living nightmare of a man sitting in it. His body was covered in some kind of light-weight yet durable armor and his face was all hidden behind a copper mask; all except that one piercing eye. He had one ankle resting atop the other knee, and his fingers were together in a pyramid fashion in front of where I assume his mouth would be.

I shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other before allowing my arrogant front to take over. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "What's up? I got your 'buzz.'" I pointed a finger down to my wrist where the irritating blue light was still flashing wildly. He continued to just stare at me, unmoving. I wish he would just yell or fire me or something. This shit was unnerving. After what felt like a million ticks from the clock behind me, he finally lowered his hands to his lap, continuing to stare at me. Sometimes I wondered if Slade could read minds, with how often he would stare at you. But really I think he just knows it freaks me out, so he keeps doing it. I sighed, deciding to give in; I knew what he wanted. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. I know I was supposed to just lounge about and watch them do their boring routine until beddy-bye time, then start back up in the morning when they get out of their jammies and get ready for breakfast, but uh, I got bored." I shrugged as if that was the perfect excuse.

Slade finally stood up, interlocking his hands behind his back. "Got bored? I believe I'm _paying_ you, giving you an endless supply of synothium, and allowing you to _live_ and all I've asked of you is to keep an eye on the Titans. It seems even that was too much for your little mind to comprehend." My hands balled into fists. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Yeah, I had heard all of the horror stories of who Slade was, what he was willing to do and what he has done in the past. Yeah, everyone I had ever talked to in the underground world of ours trembled in terror at the mere mention of his name, or pledged their undying support to anything he ever requested. Yeah, I heard all this shit and then still agreed to be his _'apprentice'_ as he called it because unlike all of the rest of these cowards, I have nothing to lose. I have nothing that he can threaten me with, so everything he was offering me for my services heavily outweighed any of the bad that may bestow itself upon me in the future if I ever fail him—which may be today. Ah well, it was a good run.

"Pshh, well if you don't think my services are living up to your expectations, let's cut this contract of ours short." Slade chuckled darkly, continuing his approached towards me. I held my ground. "Oh, no, X. That's not necessary." My fingers twitched towards my belt, just in case. His eye darted from the fingers I held on my belt then back up to my face. "Don't be stupid. That's not going to help you against me." He turned his back to me and turned to stare up at the screens before us. "At first, yes, I was extremely disappointed that I was going to have to punish you for disobeying my direct orders, however, this is playing out much better than I had ever hoped."

My eyes followed his hand as he pointed a finger towards the screen in the upper right hand corner. It was an angry Robin pacing back and forth on the roof, occasionally tugging at his hair and moving his mouth quickly as if he were rambling. Still standing in front of the door leading into the tower was the ever attractive alien, holding herself in a worried hug. She was now released from the goop and was anxiously shifting her weight as if unsure of what was happening. Her big, round eyes were watching as Robin went from one end of the roof to the next. She winced at something he said, then averted her gaze.

At first I was confused with what was happening, but then it hit me. "He saw the kiss." It was supposed to be a subconscious thought, but my lips betrayed me and it came out an audible whisper. Slade turned back around to face me, amusement dancing in his eye. "Yes, he did. And so did I." I didn't know what that last part was supposed to indicate, but chose to ignore it regardless. "So… he's pissed? And you're pumped about that, I guess?" He rolled his eye as if I was his ignorant child whom he had to explain everything to. To be fair, if he would just _tell_ me his plans, I wouldn't be so damn confused. He merely shook his head impatiently, clearly done with the conversation as he took his place back on his 'throne'. "Plans have been accelerated. You can resume your criminal mischief tomorrow." I nodded even though his attention was back on the screens in front of him. "Kay," I turned to begin my descent back down that ominous hallway until something finally dawned on me. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait just a second. You have a camera up there…" I pointed back to the now empty image of the rooftop on the far right computer screen. "So that means you can see everything that happens up there, which I'm guessing also means you have cameras pointing in through the windows of the tower as well… so why the hell did you have me positioned in the same damn spot for the past few weeks?! What is this, busy work?" I was exasperated. All of those late night stake outs, and this bastard was already able to see everything without my morning report?

Slade chuckled in response. He began typing away on the keyboard in front of him and I assumed this meant I would be getting no real answer, so I turned back around to leave. This contract wasn't going to last long if this guy continued toying around with me; I love a good game, but not when I'm not the one in control of the board. "You did well tonight, X. But understand that if you ever disobey a direct order again, it will not be a pleasant experience for you. Whether you fear death or not, I will have you _begging_ for it."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright, there's chapter two for you! Chapter three will be coming soon. (: Let me know what you think so far!**

 _ **Sneak Peek:**_

 _Chapter Three: Confusion_

 _Starfire and Robin get into an argument over the kiss; Star is confused with how she is feeling after the kiss; Red X makes another appearance and the team makes a plan to track him._


	4. Chapter Three: Confusion

**Author's Note: Merry (late) Christmas, all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and got tons of amazing gifts. (: I've been pretty busy with family things the past couple of weeks, so unfortunately, I haven't had time to go through and edit/etc so this one is pretty short, and pretty uneventful, really. I'm going to try to get the next chapter done within the next couple of days to make up for the lack of action in this chapter.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think. It really helps encourage me to update more frequently and to not lose interest in writing when I get a little feedback.**

 **Thanks to: all those that have read and those that have favorited/followed this story!**

* * *

Chapter Three: _Confusion_

 **RRRRRR**

My heart hurt. The terror in her eyes at the site of Red X throwing himself off the tower only made my blood boil hotter. Starfire, _my_ Starfire; did I have the right to call her that? Either way, I saw her kiss him back. I saw her close her eyes and allow him to take her lips into his. I would've threw myself onto the roof, ran over and knocked that bastard out had I not been in complete shock and turmoil witnessing such an intimate moment between the criminal and the princess.

My fingertips were completely numb by now from clenching and unclenching my fists in rage. I couldn't think straight; I began pacing back and forth across the roof in front of the captive alien, muttering to myself, trying to work through these emotions so I didn't accidentally say or do something I knew I would regret. Bruce, my adoptive father and more famously known as Batman, always called me a hothead and warned me to keep my temper in check when I felt myself getting too worked up. He advised that if I didn't have access to my punching bag or workout room, that I should just pace, jog in place, take deep breaths, blah blah blah. A bunch of shit, honestly. But, nevertheless, here I was, taking in a few deep breaths in between my uncontrolled growls and walking back and forth. I tried to keep my gaze off the girl, who was still silent up to this point. Unfortunately, I remembered she was still a damsel in distress, and stopped my pacing. I glanced down at the vial by the girl's foot and quickly grabbed it, opened it, and poured it on part of the sticky material binding the alien. The goopy substance began to dissolve into a viscous liquid so I quickly began tugging it away from Starfire until she was free. She rubbed her upper arm and I could feel her staring at me but I refused to meet her gaze. I turned away from her, debating whether or not to just storm back into the lonesome comfort of my room or to stay and hear her out; I chose neither.

"Robin, are you-"

"What the hell, Starfire?" I cut her off, spinning around to give her a deathly glare. The tone of my voice must have startled her because she jumped slightly, taking a step away from me. I ignored the hurt and fear in her eyes and continued allowing my raw emotions to spew from my mouth. "I saw you kiss him. What, are you attracted to him or something?" She shook her head slowly, "No, I just," her voice sounded almost airy, as if she were in some kind of a daze or simply unaware of how to answer such a direct question. Starfire let out a frustrated sigh, "I do not know what came over me."

I scoffed. My hands flung out angrily to enunciate my irritation with her response, "You don't know what came over you? So you admit it, you kissed him back!" She winced. "Robin, I do not feel for the Red X. He is a criminal." Her voice remained calm and unwavering, but I could sense the tears burning her eyes and the back of her throat, aching to be let loose, "I do not understand why I allowed him to… I lost control of my senses." She was no longer looking at me and was instead staring down at her feet.

I walked over to her. I placed myself right in front of her. I always had a problem with _needing_ answers; answers to everything from the criminals we hunt down to situations like this. I hated being uninformed or unsure of someone's motive, and right now, I wasn't sure of Red X's true reason for his action, if there was one aside from selfish male-driven desire, and I also wasn't sure of Starfire. I lowered my voice slightly since I was now so close to her. "After everything that X has done to our team; tormenting us, taunting us, stealing my damn suit… just," I felt myself soften slightly as the real question my mind was begging to ask left my lips. "…why?" Her body tensed as that one word was spoken. She was still staring down at her feet, and simply shook her head back and forth in response. I saw tears threatening to spring in her eyes, but my rage overpowered my compassion as I began pacing angrily back and forth in front of her again after realizing I was not going to get a real answer from her. I ran an irritated hand through my hair, tugging at it slightly as if it would help me register the words she hadn't spoke. "When I was Red X, you acted as if I had betrayed you. But now the tables have turned, yeah? Now you are attracted to the bad boy persona?"

She was nibbling on her lower lip and I could tell she was slightly confused. "Turning the tables? I do not understand… I am also now confused as to why you are so angry with me. Are you upset that I did not kiss you when you were the evil Red X?" My body was hot with agitation, but her words sent a different wave of warmth through my veins. Was that why I was upset? That it was _him_ she kissed instead of _me_? Was I just _jealous,_ or was it a mere concern for the affection she seemed to show to one of our team's worst enemies? I finally looked at her. "I, I…" The anger flared once more; looking at her like this just brought back that atrocious image of X holding her so closely to him and her allowing it. That sick, bubbly hot feeling was thick in my gut as my mind began formulating possible other scenarios and ideas about the thieving bastard and my teammate. I turned back towards her, "Was this the first time?" That got her attention; her head snapped up, those emerald eyes wide in shock at my question. "I have never had relations with such a man!" Somehow, the appalled tone she spoke with eased my fears ever so slightly, but I was still fuming. "How dare you accuse me of a deceit like that!" She held out her hand towards me, taking a step closer. "Robin, I am sorry for what has occurred tonight, I truly am."

My jaw tightened. "Forget it, Star. I'm not dealing with this anymore tonight. I'm going to bed." She was still standing like a statue in front of the door. Her eyes shone in the moonlight as fresh tears began to form and she withdrew the hand she had used to reach towards me, and was now holding it against her chest. I knew I was hurting her again, just as I promised I wouldn't; but to be fair, this was her fault. She was the one that was hurting me. It was only fair for me to return the favor. I rarely allowed anyone to get inside of my heart and the one time I do, this happens. I couldn't look at her anymore. I quickly made my trek to the door, slightly shoving her shoulder to move her out of the way before slamming the door behind me, leaving the confused and heartbroken girl alone on the roof. The roof was a horrible idea; I was certain now I wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, yet instead of her parading through my dreams like I had originally feared, she would be haunting my nightmares.

 **SSSSS**

I found myself in some kind of daze after Red X's lips left my own. Had he poisoned me? I felt light headed; had his previous attack not still held me to the wall, I feared my legs would have given out beneath me. My lips tingled with a pleasant burning sensation and I was certain he must have somehow poisoned me with his display of misplaced affection. I had never felt such a strange sensation; like a quiet flame had been placed close to my lips, but only close enough to allow me to feel the pleasurable warmth without actually singeing my skin. I rather _enjoyed_ this foreign feeling.

As a Tamaranian, my emotions are far stronger than those of people on Earth. This meant not only was this new-found feeling overpowering my senses, but it also meant the guilt was also heavy in my lowest stomach, threatening to shred through the organ all together and leave me open and vulnerable; more than I appeared to be already in my current predicament. I was not supposed to feel the 'fluttering' feeling for such a being; a _criminal._ I had only ever felt the worms with wings take flight within me while around Robin; that was the only man I was supposed to feel this for. I could not stop the questions from growing louder and louder until they were almost as shrill as a shrieking _glorbok_ , racking around the confines of my brain, begging every neurologic process to give myself a logical response, _Why? Why?! What have you done?!_

I felt the tears threatening to fall, but I could not allow such an act in this moment. I seemed to regain myself from my previous daze, only to see a very angry Robin standing by the edge of the roof and Red X throwing himself backwards off the ledge. I felt my heart stop for a moment, for what, fear for his safety? I did not understand. I was consumed with confusion. My lips had touched others in my life, since that is the way my people learn the foreign tongues (haha…. I didn't mean to word it to sound like this but I left it in because, I mean.. c'mon xD) of other cultures and planets. I was staring blankly at Robin as he began pacing back and forth in front of me. He did not speak, merely making a few angered snarling sounds and muttering incoherent babble beneath his breath. I was too busy thinking back to the first time I met Robin, and the 'kiss' we shared. Had I felt this back then? I already knew the answer before I even asked myself the question: no. I had never felt this. But why? He is the reason I have stayed on Earth after all of this time; the reason I gave up the throne on Tamaran; he's the reason I have not accepted any of the 'coming on's' to me from other men. So why could not this wonderful, joyous feeling consume me when I had kissed Robin? Why must it feel this way when someone so dangerous and _bad_ did such an act without asking for my consent? I truly was confused by my own actions; it only made it so much more painful when Robin too was asking me for answers that I just did not possess; we both had the same questions for what happened yet neither of us had any answers. The argument between us stung. I could no longer hold the tears at bay after seeing the hate behind his mask. Him shoving me out of the way so abruptly to get back into the tower, slamming the door after him, of course it had not hurt me physically, but emotionally it did far more than just bruise me, as did his words.

I stood up there alone for only a minute after he left to try and compose myself and attempt to reorganize my scattered thoughts and feelings. They were overwhelming. I released a sigh, as if that gust of air from my lungs would carry all the questions raging inside of me and with the new breath, return with the answers. Unfortunately, Earth air did not work that way. I wiped the tears off my face, then decided maybe I should go for a walk; sleep would not come easy if I could not gain control of these thoughts. I decided that even if these thoughts could not be reigned it, I could at least tire my body out enough to hopefully welcome the sleep from exhaustion.

It took a few minutes before I was even able to get off the roof and I ended up still falling on my butt in the grass anyway. With my flight depending on my favorite emotion, joy, it was difficult to come up with something to help lift me. I tried to think of Robin, but naturally that led to only memories of tonight and that horrible look he gave me before going back into the tower. I thought of our other friends, but then a new thought hit me: what if he told the rest of our friends what had happened? Would they, too, hate me? Would I be cast out from the Titans and from our home? No, I had to get off this roof, I had to stop worrying at least until I got onto the ground. Sadly, the only thought strong enough to ease me back down to land was the thought of the kiss; until I got close to the ground and was once again plagued with guilt for having such elated thoughts over my unforgivable mistake.

I quickly stood and straightened out my skirt before beginning my trek through the peacefully quiet streets of Jump. I had been walking for quite some time now without truly paying close attention to which direction I was heading or from which I had came from. It was a good idea though, this walk; I was already beginning to feel a lot of my consuming guilt and confusion dissipate with every step. Luckily, my plan had been to exhaust my body so my mind would be forced to rest as well, and it seemed to be working so far.

A dog barked in an upstairs apartment; a cat was lounging lazily on the lid of a full garbage can, and I found myself smile at the simplicity of it all. I had yet to see another person, but due to the time, I was not surprised. The bricks of the buildings on most of the streets I had been down were illuminated by the street lights, giving them a soft, amber glow. I found myself already feeling so at peace that I was humming a tune quietly to myself.

I turned off from one street and headed left towards another block, until I noted that there were very few lights lining the dim street. I actually do not think I had ever been down this street before. I quickly decided to avoid that block in exchange for one with a few more lights. Just as I turned my back on the ominous street, a familiar voice broke through the silence from the shadows behind me, sending a chill of both excitement and fear down my spine.

"What's the matter, cutie, afraid of the dark?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Pretty uneventful, but as bad as it sounds, I cut off the rest of the chapter I had originally wrote (X and Star's encounter/convo, back at the tower, the next day battle...etc.) and decided to make it into two chapters because I'm kind of looking for a couple of reviews before I post the next parts of this story.**

 _ **Sneak Peek**_

 _Chapter Four: What if I Told You_

 _Red X and Starfire have a chat._


	5. Chapter Four: Flying

**Author's Note: I would've updated sooner, but I'm also working on a Fullmetal Alchemist fic right now as well, and I also just started back at school this Monday. I have clinicals all week (: So far it's amazing and I love it so much. The only thing that sucks is that I have to be up super early, get to the office (which is an hour away) by 730 AM and our office doesn't close until 5 PM meaning I get home after 6 every night. This makes it really difficult to find time to work on my stories, spend time with my kiddo and my boyfriend, etc. (especially because once I get home, I'm exhausted and just want to go to bed haha) So please, be nice with this chapter. I'm writing it on what feels like half of my consciousness so hopefully it is alright. I will be editing it a bit tomorrow if it's needed (grammar and stuff, not story line.) but it's late and I need to get to sleep. Please leave me some feedback so I feel the burning desire to write instead of sleep! If I don't think anyone is enjoying it, I won't bother wasting my time. lol**

 **On that note: THANK YOU to** _ **Yupinaloveyhu2, Anime-nerdgirl36, fluffyunicornxox**_ **(I'm assuming** _ **fluffyunicornbae**_ **is also you? so double thank you!),** _ **and Mika927**_ **for the reviews so far! (: You are all amazing and I appreciate the love! I'm so glad to hear you are enjoying it so far. Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint. 3**

 **1/18/2016 Update: I read back through this and didn't like certain parts of it, so it is edited quite a bit. That's what I get for writing it and posting it on no sleep xD**

* * *

Chapter 4: _Flying_

 **XXXXX**

" _What's the matter, cutie, afraid of the dark?"_

My voice must have immediately triggered the titan's reflexive battle instincts because she wasted no time to spin around in my direction, hands and eyes glowing a brilliant emerald in the darkness. I made sure to remain in the shadows so she couldn't see me right away.

"Show yourself, Red X. I am not in the state of mind to do battle with you tonight."

I let out a brief chuckle. "Oh? Still recovering from my kiss, I assume?"

She didn't seem to enjoy my teasing because her eyebrows knitted together in a frustrated glare towards the darkness before she threw out two jade orbs of energy in a random direction, blasting a trash can and knocking the lid into the side of the escape ladder dangling above the dumpster. I could tell by this that she still had not pinpointed my location.

"You are at fault for my need to _recover,_ but it is not for the reasons you seem to believe." Her voice was laced with distaste and I could only assume it was due to Robin's reaction to her after I left the roof.

"He doesn't deserve you, you know."

She threw another starbolt with a growl, this time only inches from where I was hiding in the shadows of the large building. "You know nothing!"

"Oh but I do, cutie."

I took that as my chance to step out from my hiding place, hands up in surrender. "Do you wanna talk about it?" _What the hell are you doing?_ I thought to myself. Whether it be my natural ability to _"save"_ wounded women from a night of loneliness, or just sheer curiosity as to what the spikey haired hero had said to her in order to make her look so crestfallen, I was still putting myself right in her line of sight and out of the safety of my hiding place all to pry into the mind of some girl I barely even knew.

Those mesmerizing eyes, still pupil-less and terrifying, finally landed on me. I saw the muscles lining her jaw flex. She didn't seem to appreciate my obvious surrender or my unusual act of kindness. "Why would I talk to you about anything? So you may use it against my friends and myself in future confrontations?" This time, those eyes showed me just how terrifying they truly were when she fired lasers from them in my direction. They traveled with almost lightning speed, but somehow, I jumped to the side with a roll, landing back on my feet to dodge it. I took a moment to appreciate my quick reflexes before responding.

"I'm a _thief_ , not some evil arch nemesis of yours. I was just extending my good listening skills to a beautiful woman in need."

She scoffed, "I am not so easily swayed, Red X." Her next strike came swiftly; it knocked into me, flinging me backwards into the large, metal dumpster. I felt the metal bending on impact; denting the rusted metal into a slightly mangled outline of my body.

"Shit, that hurt." I muttered under my breath. She was preparing to throw another one, so I quickly sprung back to my fee, ignoring the sharp sting radiating along my shoulders and spine. She rushed towards me with a tugged back fist ready to punch; coming close was her fatal mistake. I held out my right hand, palm up, watching her inch closer and closer. Just as she was about a foot away, I ducked. Before she could even register what was happening, I had grabbed her fist in my hand and spun her around so that her back was against my chest. My free arm wrapped around her torso while I continued to hold her other arm behind her back. "Tag, looks like you're it." She fought against my hold with much vigor; clearly thinking I was planning on harming her instead of just trying to keep her from killing me. She threw her head back in an attempt to connect with my face. Luckily, I had already anticipated such an attack and held my head to the side out of her range.

"Whoa, easy! I'm not looking for a fight, sweetheart."

"Then release me."

I chuckled lightly into her ear. My cheek was against hers now. I could feel the warmth radiating off her skin through my mask. "Why, so you can shoot me? No thanks. This is actually kinda nice, huh? A kiss on a rooftop under the stars, cuddling you in the street... damn, I'm pretty romantic." I playfully tightened my hold around her stomach to pull her body closer into mine. I could feel her rapid breathing increase in response to my blunt actions and had to chuckle once more.

"I do not care to play your games, Red X. Release me and I will leave you uninjured."

I faked a pout and let my shoulders sag, "Aw, you don't want to play?" I brushed my nose against her shoulder. I lowered my voice to a husky whisper just as the tip of my nose ran slowly up the side of her neck. "I can teach you how to play. I'm pretty good at games." Her body tensed in my grasp.

"I-I do not believe I understand what you are saying."

I carefully released her hand that I had held behind her back so that I could pull my mask up to my nose. "I think you do. And I bet if you tried it, you'd really enjoy it." I felt her breath hitch in her throat and smiled to myself. "I might even let you win."

I allowed my uncovered lips to run the same route along her neck as I had before, then placed a kiss on the exposed skin behind her earlobe. My lips tingled at the feel of her skin against them. It was an electrifying feeling: to taste her, to feel her so close to me. I didn't understand why it was so easy for this girl to unconsciously cause such strong emotional distress within me. I had little time to think about it, because only a fraction of a second after my lips touched her skin, she suddenly seemed to realize that I no longer held her arm behind her back and had also loosened my hold around her waist. She turned around to face me and our eyes met for only a moment, before she shoved me in the chest forcing me to regain my footing. I quickly tugged my mask back into place, leaving no skin exposed. She had already prepared her fists ready to once again duel with me; something I had no interest in doing with the typically effervescent female.

"Hey, I thought you said you would 'leave me uninjured' if I let you go?"

She took a step away from me, hands glowing green once more. "I lied."

She threw another green ball of energy from her fist and I dodged it—barely. She was pissed, which was obvious by how quickly and violently she was throwing her starbolts, but I _did_ note that she was not flying, which made it slightly easier to dodge her flurry of attacks considering they were all coming from a stationary source. I jumped up and grabbed hold of the fire safe ladder dangling a few feet above me and used it to swing from and hoist myself up to the black metal stairs attached.

"Look, I'm not going to fight you. It's late as hell and besides, I have no desire to hurt you anyway."

She was readying another fist of fury while I was once again holding my palms up in surrender. Didn't she see that if I had wanted to attack her I would've by now? I would've done something to her when I had her captured?

"Then why have you followed me?"

I sneered. "Well aren't you a conceited little thing? I wasn't following you. I just so happened to be on my way home when I saw a lone titan walking around this late at night which had me curious. And it also brings up another good question: why are you _walking_?" Her eyes widened at my question. The menacing green left her eyes as they softened to their natural state, but the anger did not leave her features.

"I do not believe that is any of the business that is yours, but I will inform you that my inability to fly _is_ your fault."

Since she had decided to halt her attack on me, I lowered my arms from their defensive position in front of my face and placed a hand on my hip. What did she mean it was _my_ fault? "You can't fly because of me? Damn, I knew you enjoyed our _time_ together, but I had no idea my abilities were so… _paralyzing."_ To that, a deep shade of crimson covered her tanned cheeks.

"You think highly of yourself, Red X, but what happened on the roof was a mistake that I will forever regret. You are at fault for the unpleasantness of this entire evening. Now I will ask kindly for you to please leave."

For some reason, the seriousness of her gaze and the honest tone of her voice sent a numbing pang of some foreign emotion jolting through my gut; I couldn't quite place what this unfamiliar feeling was, but I knew one thing: I didn't like it. Luckily, my disappointed frown was hidden behind my mask. I crossed my arms, feeling the irritation rising within me when the horrible sensation didn't immediately dissipate.

"Well then, if it was so unpleasant, why did you kiss me back?" I was gripping the guard rail in front of me until my arms visibly trembled from the amount of strength I was putting into my hold, but was careful not to make it obvious to the alien exactly what her words had done to me.

The glowing orbs evaporated from her hands so that she could hug her upper arms. She averted her gaze, now finding much interest in the pavement. It took her a long time to respond, which I assumed meant I was going to get a real answer; I was mistaken.

"I… I do not know."

I stared at her for a moment, trying to work out in my mind if I wanted to actually inform her of why it was she had kissed me back or not. Oh yeah, I knew why; I knew the exact reason. She wasn't the first girl I've ever met that had a thing for a boy that neglected her needs. In fact, those were my favorite girls; the ones that foolishly thought that I would be the answer to their problems, that I genuinely gave a shit about them unlike their 'asshole boyfriends.' I would listen to them complain all night about the situation they got _themselves_ in with their _significant other,_ and I would tell them my honest opinion on what they should do and what I thought. Somehow, they would take from that, that I was one of those ' _bad boys'_ that are actually secretly sensitive and wonderful and nice; the _bad boy_ that all it took was a good girl in order to change their ways. Then, once the night was over, I would prove them wrong by sneaking out of the window before they even woke up.

Something with Starfire was different though. I didn't like the feeling it gave me to look into those deep, hurting eyes of hers. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I knew it was Bird Boy's fault and I hated that guy. I didn't like to think too deeply into things like this. The majority of the women in my life were nothing more than flings, but I've had a couple of real relationships before also. They never ended well. I would usually end up hurting them or they would end up screwing me over, hence why I usually just avoided the situation entirely. Why then, was my heart fighting so hard with what my brain was trying to tell the rest of my body? Why hadn't I just tried to talk this sweet little thing into coming back home with me for the night and hurriedly getting myself over this silly little _'crush'_ or whatever it was? For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do that.

I let out a sigh, coming to absolution. "I know why."

Her eyes flew back to meet mine, curiosity glinting there. "You know what?"

"I know why you let me kiss you on the roof."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You do?"

I nodded. "If I come down there, are you just going to attack me again?"

She shook her head, allowing the menacing jade orbs to evaporate completely from her hands, holding them up in a similar gesture to the one I had done for her before, to simulate surrender. I held out a finger at her, "You better behave yourself." She rolled her eyes and I swung myself around the guardrail, landing with an inaudible thud in front of her. I turned my gaze to the brick building to our left and I took a seat beside it with my back leaning into it, then, patted the spot beside me. At her hesitance, I sighed loudly. "If I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would've by now?" I patted the pavement again, this time with more exaggeration. After a few more seconds of internal debate, she had finally obliged but her level of discomfort at sitting in such close proximity to a criminal was tangible. Luckily, she was curious to see what I had to say and was no longer trying to murder me with her alien powers. I leaned my head against the building as I spoke.

"You like Bird Boy, right?" She was blushing again; my heart went nuts. I looked away from her and continued without waiting for her to stammer out some kind of response. "Well, you aren't getting what you want from him." She stared at me with a look of doubt.

"I do not believe I understand what you mean, Red X. Please explain." I nodded, thinking of how I wanted to elaborate. "He doesn't give you anything that you obviously need… no physical attention, no emotional consideration, nothing. Sometimes, when someone isn't getting what they need from one person, they seek it out elsewhere. That's why when I showed you the attention you had been longing for, you couldn't resist."

I heard a sharp intake of breath from the girl as she contemplated what I had said. "How would you know any of that?"

A humorless chuckle left my lips. "Let's just say I'm not completely clueless like your Boy Wonder when it comes to women."

She nodded in affirmation then continued staring down at her hands where she was fidgeting with her fingers, obviously lost once more in what I had said. I felt like the mood had gotten too serious and decided to shift it back to normal by nudging her shoulder, "I could be wrong though. I mean, I am drop dead gorgeous, so...that is probably the _real_ reason you kissed me. Hm, maybe we should try it again and see?"

I couldn't believe her reaction. She must have caught on that I was teasing her and a huge smile touched her lips as she giggled. I don't understand how someone so absolutely stunning could be real or that someone like her could be so obviously head over heels for someone like Robin. I was once again thankful for the mask hiding my face as I stared in awe for a tick longer than I should have. I had to force myself to look away in order to break her hold on me.

"I have never seen you without that suit, how would I know of your physical appearance?"

I shrugged. "Eh, you're right. Not many people are lucky enough to see that, though. But maybe one day, if you play your cards right, I'll let you get a good look at this mug of mine." I gestured to my face, knowing she would get confused at my wording if I hadn't made it obvious what I was referring to. Her lips tugged into an even bigger smile and I could've sworn I saw a joyous twinkle in her emerald pools at the thought of seeing who it was under the mask in front of her.

"I would like that."

I thought for a moment back to another familiar figure always hidden by a mask and couldn't help but ask. "So, have you... you know, ever seen your Boy Wonder without his mask on then?" I felt awkward asking, but naturally, I did anyway despite my own protest. Her smile vanished and so did that shimmering glimmer of excitement in her eyes at my question. The girl's arms tightened around her knees to pull them close enough to rest her chin atop them.

"No, I have not. He has never removed the mask in front of any of us Titans." I felt myself release a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding.

"Ah." It wasn't a great response, but it was decent enough for her to continue her train of thought.

"Sometimes I do not believe the feelings are reciprocated and that is why he avoids allowing himself to do any intimate things with me: like removing his mask, or involving me in his research, or discussing how he feels.." Her voice: so broken, so fragile, was barely a whisper. I wondered if she had meant to speak the words out loud or if it was supposed to be an internal statement.

My stomach tightened as my lips continued moving without my authorization. "Well, his loss."

A sigh escaped her. Those long legs tucked up to her chest further. "I tried to discuss our feelings earlier but then you showed up. He is very angry with me for that as well."

I have never been more thankful for my timing in my life; why? My head and my body were confusing the hell out of me when it came to this girl. "My bad." I muttered as my half ass way of apologizing. I saw her turn to face me out of the corner of my eye.

"Do you think I should try to discuss it with him again?" _No, give up on him._

I could hear that upward tilt of hope at the end of her question and fought down the desire to kiss her again and make her forget all about that ungrateful, undeserving punk. "In my opinion, the spikey-haired freak should man up and make you his on his own." _That's right. Screw that kid._ "I doubt that'll ever happen though, so I guess if you really want to find out how he feels, just ask him. See what he says." _You stupid son of a bitch. What are you doing?_ She flashed me a very genuine, very pants-restricting smile; I had to readjust how I was sitting to avoid any embarrassment, or a compliment if she were appreciative of such assets (which I highly doubted).

"I still don't think he deserves you, I really don't." I hadn't even meant to speak the words; it was supposed to remain an internal statement. She lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Why is it that you think such things? You know very little of me and the only information that you know of Robin is from the perspective of his enemy. Robin is a very good man and a strong leader. He has done much to protect this city and he-"

"And none of that has anything to do with his relationship with you. Do you enjoy being in second place to the likes of people like me? Do you really think all it's going to take is coaxing him out of his shy little shell by telling him how you feel and suddenly everything is going to change? That he'll stop obsessing over catching criminals like Slade and start obsessing over you? I've heard a lot of stories about how that kid is with obsessing over-"

She cut me off, throwing up her palm to halt my questions. "What is it that you have heard? How is it that you know of Slade?"

"I've heard everything."

He wasn't much of a talker when it came to his secret plans, but Slade had no problem giving me details about his past experiences with each of the titans: especially Robin. He told me about how he first wore the Red X suit and what he had done to his friends: betraying them, lying to them, the whole sha-bang. He told me about how things went down when he was working as Slade's apprentice, and basically described Robin as an overly obsessive punk that would probably be much better off working alone than with his team considering he seemed to leave them in the dark with a lot of his snap decisions on matters such as this. I knew from everything Slade had told me that these character flaws were things that Robin didn't think of as flaws. He probably saw them as aspects of who he was that made him such a good hero. Did this mean he would be unsuccessful in a personal relationship? Hell yeah. No woman would put up with constantly being ignored and neglected while Boy Wonder was busy researching creeps and clowns on google all hours of the night. I came back from my musing to the beauty's stern gaze still waiting for a response. I shrugged.

"Hang around enough low-key places, have a few conversations with some fellow criminals, and you'll hear about things, especially things involving the Teen Titans. You guys aren't very liked when it comes to the crowd of people I hang around."

I knew I couldn't mention anything about Slade. He made it very clear that the titans believed him to have perished or be in jail or... something. I can't remember, all I know is that he doesn't want them to know he is in fact alive and well. "Word gets around."

She seemed to take this for what it was, a cop-out, and gave me a critical glare. I rested my palms behind my head and pretended I hadn't noticed. "Have you ever met Slade?" Her question caught me off guard and I was once again thankful for the mask hiding my reaction.

"Not personally, but I've heard a lot about the guy. He's a pretty popular topic to other deviants considering how close he came to defeating _the_ Teen Titans." It wasn't a complete lie. She seemed to buy it though and her shoulders, that I just realized had been tense, relaxed.

"Oh, I see." She let out a sigh of what I assumed was relief at the continued belief that Slade was long gone. I decided to switch the topic back to our previous discussion to avoid any more prodding. "Do what you want with your little bird friend, but don't say I didn't warn you when this little fantasy of yours doesn't work out."

"I know how Robin is and I am alright with it. It is who he is and it is what makes him a wonderful crime fighter." She was still standing up for him with her words, but the tone of her voice: shallow, distant, I knew she was considering my words and criticizing her own. The sad look in her eyes as she stared back down at her fingers in her lap tugged at my chest. I felt consumed with an outlandish desire to bring back that dazzling smile.

"Hey, but what do I know? I'm just a thief. If I was good at this stuff, I'd probably have a girlfriend, right?" I forced a dry chuckle at my horrible attempt to reassure her. I felt like I was on some kind of torture device with ropes around my limbs, tugging me in all directions, and my body was about to break. I couldn't seem to make up my mind on what it was I wanted to relay to the titan. Was I really just wanting to win the girl over for the sake of some game I had made up for myself or did I want her for myself to keep? Both options sounded like bad ideas, but I couldn't get any organ in my body to agree with the others on what I wanted to do or even say. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything after that, because her smile had returned and I was once again set off kilter by the curse that it carried with it.

"Thank you. You are correct about your skills at listening and you are also quite skilled in the advice giving. I am beginning to believe you are not as bad as I once thought." _That's what they all say... at first._ I had to tone out the voice in my head; all of these back and forth thoughts and mixed up emotions were going to send me into some kind of epileptic seizure.

"Eh, nah, I'm still a bad boy. Don't you worry about that, sweetheart."

Her smile only broadened at my statement, as if she believed it to be more of my playful banter. Before she could respond, the loud obnoxious jingle to the Titans' theme song began ringing at the side of her hip. My pants suddenly seemed to fit a lot better as that horrid song played through again. She grabbed the round object and held it out in front of her, staring at it as if debating whether or not to open it and answer the call.

"Your _boyfriend_ must be worried about you." My words dripped with sarcasm. The heart I only recently realized I still had, seemed to have relocated itself in my gut at the thought of our time together coming to a screeching halt.

"I did not inform anyone I was going for a walk. They are probably just wondering where I have gone."

I decided this was her polite way of excusing herself, so I chose to beat her to the gun. "You probably better get home then." I stretched my arms over my head while I stood back up. I stole a glance at her as she also got back to her feet and I could've sworn I saw a slight hesitancy in her stare. She was still gripping the now silent communicator in her palm. My fingers reached out and cradled her chin gently, which she shockingly allowed. "Be safe, alright? We wouldn't want any criminals sneaking up on you while you're all alone." I winked eliciting a playful eye roll from the alien beauty.

"No, we cannot have that, can we?" She replied. I couldn't help but grin, noting that I finally got her to join in on my playful banter, before pulling my hand away from her face, turning away from her and beginning my short trek back to my apartment. Her soft voice stopped me. "Red X?" I tilted my head to glance back at her over my shoulder; she was smiling again. "I am truly grateful to have had you to talk to tonight. Really, thank you." My heart must have found its way back into my chest because I could feel it thudding against my ribs wildly at the sight of her beaming at me and the sincerity in her words. I began walking again, tossing my hand in the air to give her a wave.

"Anytime, cutie."

I told myself I wasn't going to let me turn around again for the rest of my walk home; I refused to allow the self-torture to continue any further. I had to get home and get these thoughts under control. However, I was listening for her vanishing footsteps as I walked away and when I didn't hear any, I got curious and accidentally turned around to see why she hadn't left yet. I don't know why it lifted my spirits so much to know I must have fixed what the girl claimed I had broken, but regardless, I was pleased at the site of the back of her departing figure as it seemed to disappear high above the rooftops: she was _flying._

* * *

Robin was waiting up for me when I got home. He was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and was fidgeting his leg anxiously. I was shocked to see him still up, but I had assumed as much after the missed call on my communicator. As I walked in, his leg ceased its jittering and his masked eyes turned to me. "Star, there you are. Where were you?" His voice was laced with concern. I suddenly felt a familiar pang of guilt at his question. I knew I could not tell him the whole truth, lest to begin another argument.

"I am the sorry, Robin. I did not mean to worry you. I was in need of time for myself after our dispute earlier." He flinched at my response, hopefully realizing he had upset me far more than he had intended to.

"Yeah about that…" A nervous hand reached to scratch the back of his head. "What I said…I mean, It's... I shouldn't have acted like that. It wasn't your fault and I was just…" The words seemed to have left him as he tried to speak until he finally gave up and let the sentence fail. Robin stood up from the couch and took a few hesitant steps towards me. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really sorry about all of that, Star." I felt the heaviness of all my pain and worry lift from my shoulders. My arms flung around him, entrapping him in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Robin! I am thrilled to know you do not hate me." I felt his arms wrap around my waist and the desire to soar around the room flooded through me happily.

"Hate you? Star, I could never hate you. I was just upset with how everything happened and let my anger get the best of me." His words tickled my ear as he spoke causing me to giggle. "I'm going to try not to do that anymore."

"I know, Robin. I understand. I am sorry as well. Let us forget about it, yes?" I pulled back but kept my palms on his shoulders; I was not willing to break our physical contact entirely, just yet. He flashed me his famous crooked grin which elicited a warmth inside my body.

"It never happened." He responded. We stood like that for a long minute, just staring at each other and smiling, until a yawn betrayed me.

"We should get to bed. It's late."

I nodded. We walked together to the hallway until it came to the intersection for us to go our separate ways. I caught him staring after me after I flew to my door and felt heat rise to my cheeks.

"Good night, Star."

"Pleasant shlovax, Robin."

Tonight ended up being a wonderful night. Robin and I had mended our friendship and I had even managed to make a new friend; a new friend that had left me with many new thoughts on what to do about Robin and my feelings for him. I decided not to think too much on the topic tonight so that I may get some sleep before it was time to rise, but promised myself to set aside time in the day to think things over.

I tried to tell myself the only true reason I was so overjoyed was because Robin and I had made up, but I could not convince myself of such things so easily. Because once my eyelids drifted closed, for some reason all I saw were images of a man in an all-black suit with a skull sewn over the face.

* * *

"Goddammit!" I swiped my gloves off and threw them carelessly to the floor. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I kicked the door shut with the heel of my boot before yanking them off and throwing them against the wall with a loud thud. "Why the hell is she doing this to me?!" I wrenched the mask from my face, but held it crumpled up in my fist. My body and my mind were in an internal battle of what I should do and what I wanted to do; which usually the latter always won. I knew it wouldn't work out. She's a superhero and I'm a thief. She has Bird Boy and I have…

For the first time in a long time, I felt completely and utterly alone. I had grown so used to that gnawing hunger for companionship, that consuming, aching loneliness, that I had been able to just pretend it didn't exist. But now it seemed to be hitting me full force; I could no longer simply ignore it.

I stared around my small, one bedroom apartment. My eyes tilted towards the miniature kitchen area that I knew to only house two of everything: cups, plates, bowls, etc.; one to use and one to use when I didn't want to wash the other. I also knew my fridge was almost completely void of sustenance considering I rarely ate anything when I was home, because I tried very hard to never be home.

I knew what came with walking in through that door every night; bitter sadness and seclusion. I slipped the rest of my suit off with far less fury than the previous parts of the suit, now having calmed down, and then folded it up and set it on the arm of the couch. An irritated hand ran back and forth in my hair to remove any signs of "helmet hair." I turned my gaze from my small kitchen to the living room I was currently standing in. I had a beige two-seater couch facing towards a large screen tv suspended from the wall. There was also a comfortable royal blue lazyboy chair catty-cornered to the couch and a wooden coffee table between them. The carpet was plush, off-white and the walls were a shade darker than that. It was a pretty boring set up, but considering I had never anticipated living here for long, I had not done much with the place.

My bathroom was simple as well: a shower/bath, a sink, and a toilet; impressive, I know. My bedroom was the only part of the house I seemed to have added any 'personality' to, if you could call it that. My bed was an average size; a twin I think or maybe a queen. The crimson comforter and midnight blue sheets were neatly tucked properly into place. I knew hidden underneath the bed was a pretty heavy safe-box that I held all of my valuables in: old photos, all the money and jewels I was saving for when I finally decided to leave this shit-hole of a city, and a few other trinkets I didn't have the heart to look at every day but also didn't have the balls to part with.

In the corner of the room I noted my desk with my laptop closed on it. I tried imagining what Bird Boy's room looked like and was hoping it was covered in bird posters and feather boas but part of me didn't see that as a possibility. Then my wandering mind began to imagine what _her_ room looked like. What color was it? Did she sleep in PJ's or in nothing at all? I felt blood rushing from my brain at the mental image but it didn't last long; I scolded myself for thinking such thoughts.

"Get her out of your head, X. A girl like that would never be with a guy like you; you are no good for her anyhow." I muttered the words under my breath, trying to convince myself to rid her from my memory with much fail. "Dammit." The curse left my lips as a sigh.

I whisked a hand through my unruly hair and decided a cold shower may be necessary before my body would allow me to sleep. I sauntered across the carpet to the bathroom. Flicking on the light, I saw my expression staring back at me in the mirror. The untamed brown hair, emotionless blue eyes, a scowl on my lips. Then my eyes shifted lower to see the scars marring my chest and shoulders. Before images of how they got there erupted into my cognizance, I turned away from the reflection and instead hopped in the shower, turning only the cold water knob on full blast and standing in the icy rain; allowing the water to form into droplet at the tips of my hair and drip down to my toes.

"I should stay away from her." The thought had crossed my mind before, even before I kissed her. But I've always been selfish, and I knew I wouldn't be able to resist staying away when all I really wanted was to ruffle Robin's feathers by getting closer to the beauty. I never expected myself to actually find something more in her than just a good lay and a few jealous glares from the Boy Wonder.

The water along my shoulders and down parts of my back seemed to be taunting my past; tracing along the jagged mutilations before running down the uncarved portion of skin my body possessed. I closed my eyes. My head leaned back so that the water was now hitting my cheeks like a million, tiny ice sickles pelting me in the face. I ignored the sting and remained lost in my thoughts.

I was never good at doing the right thing. Sure, I knew how to, but that didn't mean it was something I did regularly or even did well for that matter. I always seemed to fall for temptation; which is also why I knew I would not be able to simply stay away from Starfire. If I can't have her for myself, if I'm so horrible for her, so be it; I won't try to win her over anymore. I would sit back and allow Robin to fuck up his own chances with the girl. Honestly, it would be a lot of fun to watch.

"I won't pursue anything. I won't let her affect me anymore. She's just a girl anyway." It was like a mantra I was mumbling to myself through the cold, unsympathetic downpour. I felt a small smile tug at the corner of my lip. "Doesn't mean I can't still have fun though."

* * *

 **Author's Note: OMG bed time. I'm so freaking tired right now. Like I said, if it sounds like I wrote it while half asleep, uhh... yes, yes I did. lol**

 **I plan to update again this weekend if I get enough love. xD good night, all!**

 **-InconsciousSin.**


	6. Chapter Five: Robbery

Chapter Five: _Robbery_

 **Starfire's POV:**

I awoke the next morning prepared to confront Robin with my true feelings. I couldn't help but wonder if Red X was correct about Robin during our late night chat, and that I will truly always come in second to the criminals of this city. Fortunately, I allowed no time to dwell on the topic and instead began brushing my hair. The words came together like a poetic prayer in my mind, but every time I practiced speaking them at myself in the mirror, they came out far less appealing. "Robin, I have been feeling things for you for quite a long time now. I hope you reciprocate." My nose wrinkled at the tragic attempt before I tried another arrangement of words. "Greetings, Robin. I hoped to discuss our longevity in life and how much I would enjoy being with you throughout it." That one sounded more like a marriage proposal. I laid my forehead against my vanity and groaned. This was not an easy task. What if he says no? What if I ruin our friendship by confessing that I feel much more for him than mere friendship? Am I about to make a mistake? My eyes scrunched together and I began doing a few deep breaths to prepare for another trial run on words.

"Starfire!" The muffled sound of someone calling my name right outside the door followed by knocking startled me out of my seat with an, "Eep!" I knew it was Robin's voice and I could not imagine a greater embarrassment than this. I opened the door, expecting him to have overheard my silly ramblings which was the reason for his presence outside of my door. Unfortunately, I could tell by the appearance of his face that this was not the case. "There's trouble; a robbery at Jump National." His masked eyes narrowed. "I think it's X." My heart thudded unusually hard against my ribs.

"Okay," I nodded. "I shall join you all in just a moment." That seemed to be good enough because Robin muttered a "hurry" before bounding off down the hallway. I quickly pressed the button on the wall to shut the door and took a step back. I needed to figure this out. Was he going to tell my friends about our speaking together last night? Or the kiss? Or had Robin already disclosed that to the team anyway? Something thick seemed to be blocking my airway making it difficult to breathe: panic. It took only a few seconds for me to calm myself down. I just needed to get alone with Red X before he made some kind of joke or comment about last night. Tucking my eyebrows in determination, I opened my window and took off down towards the city as fast as I could manage.

* * *

 **Red X's POV:**

The alarms were ringing right on cue and I leaned my back against the wall between two desks inside the bank. The tellers were still ducking down, hiding behind their desks; as if I were actually interested in harming any of them. I had a black backpack stuffed tight with cash lazily slung over my left shoulder and my arms were crossed across my chest to enunciate my impatience.

"Please, please, sir! Don't hurt me! I have a daughter…" I didn't even bother suppressing a scoff at the pitiful being crouched down on his hands and knees beside the desk to my right. The man, if you could even call him that, was decked out in an expensive looking navy blue suit with his hair fashioned in a way that I could only imagine costed him a fortune more than it was worth. The man's voice possessed a trepidation I had grown rather used to over the years of my less-than-legal hobbies. But the thing that I loathed most about this pathetic bastard was him being arrogant enough to think that if I were really here to hurt him that merely mentioning his _daughter_ would change my mind; as if no one else in this building had children, or a family, or even a cat that they would rather enjoy going back home to after this.

"Shut up. I'm not going to hurt any of you." He crawled an inch backwards to further himself from me and sobbed out a second plea for his life. My head pounded with the desire to punch this guy's lights out just to hush him up. Instead, I opted out of the devilish idea and simply squatted down beside him until I was at eye-level. "If I wanted to hurt you, you'd already be dead." The man gulped and permitted himself to cower closer to the desk. I turned my attention away from him and stood back up, lazily inclining against the wall once more.

A woman with her legs tucked into her chest and tears drawing moist, uneven mascara lines down her cheeks was staring at me from the corner adjacent to where I was standing. The man babbling and blubbering was one thing; that was something I could shrug off as a simple annoyance, but the look on that woman's face was more than that. She was gaping at me as if I were the monster hidden beneath her sheets in the middle of the night. I'm not a monster. I may be far from a hero, but I'm not the worst kind of person there is. I steal, sure. But the stare this woman was giving me was the look I imagine a victim gives their tormenter as a silent plea for life just before he happily cuts it short. I forced myself to look away and just reverted to tapping my foot anxiously against the linoleum flooring as each silent tick of the clock continued to count down to the inevitable moment that the Titans would arrive. Within minutes, I heard the distinct purr of a motorcycle engine growing closer. A sly grin flitted behind my mask; the Titans were coming; _she_ was coming.

I couldn't help but wonder if the Bird Boy was still upset about last night, kind of hoping he was. Screw him. He deserved nothing more than to lose the beautiful girl that's been pining over him for years; the girl that he's continuously just pushed away. My grin evolved into a devious smirk at the imagined conversation my alien beauty and that pest, Robin, must have had last night. Leaving the tower alone so late at night? Not answering or returning his calls? Psh, yeah. I would give anything to have been a fly on the wall for _that_ conversation.

The two doors swayed open to reveal a very familiar and very vexed spikey-haired boy.

"Finally! You know, you guys really need to work on your arrival times. If I wasn't purposely waiting on you to get here I would've already been long gone."

Robin growled. "You made a big mistake by waiting on us then because you're not getting away this time." The tone of his voice was rotten with hatred.

My head lolled to the side. "I don't know, Bird Boy, what's the score now? Like, 10-0? I'd say the likelihood of you succeeding here is minimal." I pushed myself away from the wall of the building, readying myself for some fun. "Oh wait, it's more like 11-0 after last night." Robin's gloved hands balled into fists. It looked like his teeth were going to shatter against each other from how tightly he was clenching his jaw due to the meaning behind my words.

"You won't come near her again, X." The rest of the team trickled in one by one after that: the goth flew through the window in the form of a black crow, reshaping into her human form beside the spikey haired brat; the Robot and the green one ran in the door shortly after. My heart was pounding in my chest, noticing that the one I was eager to see was missing. I glanced around the room anticipating to lay eyes on the alien beauty; that's when I saw her. Starfire soared down from the sky in through the open doorway to hover next to her teammates. While her hands glowed a menacing green, her eyes held a slight shimmer of uneasiness as she stared at me.

A smile formed behind my mask. "Well hello, beautiful." I wondered how she would react to seeing me after our little chat last night, so I figured I'd test the waters. Her eyebrows tugged together, but before she even had a chance to respond, Robin was rushing towards me with his bo-staff in hand. I dodged the oncoming attack with ease as well as the next one. "Jealousy isn't a very attractive trait, you know." I stated before languidly tossing a bomb below his feet. He saw the attack coming and did a swift backflip to avoid the blast.

Robin sneered. "I have nothing to be jealous of." He spun his staff around his fingers.

"No?" I scratched the back of my head. "So I guess kissing your girl isn't off-limits then?" The masked hero's face glowed crimson. I was enjoying myself far too much, watching the flustered boy rush at me again with intent to kill. Just as he got close enough, I side-stepped then shoved against his back so he ran face first into the wall. "What, lover-boy? No rebuttal?" Robin was definitely going to have a headache from the sound of his thick skull connecting with reinforced concrete. Now on his hands and knees, Robin was trying to collect himself by cradling the growing goose egg on his forehead. I placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down until my lips were against his ear. "Considering she kissed me back, I'd have to guess she's technically _my_ girl." Oh, he didn't like that. A leg dawning green spandex swiped through the air and connected with my gut, briefly knocking the wind out of me.

The robot decided to join in after that. I heard his arm clanking and whirring as it transformed into a large sonic blaster.

"Time to take you down." A large blue beam overflowed from the canon and hit me in the back, knocking me onto my knees. I hardly had time to catch my breath before the shape-shifter, Beastboy, evolved into a bear and swiped its sharp claws at me. I rolled to the left, then thrust a heel into the bear's snout prompting a callous jolt from the creature. I glanced back to the registers where the 'hostages' as they presumed they were, were being ushered out carefully by Starfire. She was obviously choosing the job that didn't involve fighting me which was somehow very satisfying. I decided to leave her be for now. I wasn't wanting to hurt any of those people anyway; I'm a thief, not a murderer. Thinking I had more time to get back on my feet was a mistake. Robin was still pissed about what I said; his bo-staff connected with the side of my head seconds before Raven uttered her famous phrase. I was being thrown back against the wall and held there by an ominous, black shadow.

"You've lost. Come quietly and I won't hurt you."

"How very generous of you." Her shadow was only holding me from the torso to my shoulders, leaving my legs dangling freely. I was thankful for all of the upgrades Slade had so kindly added to my suit. I kicked my heel against the wall to activate the weapon applied to the underside of my boot, holding my leg straight out towards Raven. An X flew out, growing enormous in size then combusting into a sticky mess right before hitting its target. The substance engulfed the entirety of the girl's body and face, sticking her to the floor. Cyborg and Beastboy rushed to help get her free. With her loss of concentration, the shadow released me and with the other members distracted, I took that as my chance to run outside of the bank, hurling two smoke bombs in my wake to slow down Robin, who I knew cared more about my capture than the safety of his teammate.

My eyes darted around quickly once I was free of the overwhelming smoke enveloping the bank, trying to spot Starfire before the other Titans were able to recover, but she was nowhere to be found. All of the hostages were across the street, holding onto each other in comfort. I saw the woman who cried tears of black sobbing into the shoulder of one of the other hostages while the pitiful, crying man appeared to be running down the street far away from the scene.

"Release the valuables you have stolen and I will gladly let you leave, Red X." My heart jolted in my chest at the sound of her voice coming from behind me. I sneered beneath my mask and gripped the strap of the backpack tighter.

"I would gladly do that for you, sweetheart, but unfortunately, I have a job to do." I turned around to face her. Her captivating eyes told a story that her lips dared not to speak. They appeared timid yet determined. I could see the internal battle she was having within herself over whether or not to take me down. My heart thudded once again against my chest; our little talk last night must have had some influence on her after all. Her hands were no longer glowing, which made me feel much safer in her presence and her lips were set in an uneasy line as she continued staring at me, gauging me.

"There are better jobs than this. One's that do not require the endangerment of innocent lives or the larceny of currency that does not belong to you." I had to laugh at her alien naivety.

"Oh, but this is far more fun."

My words set a tug to her brow line. "Simply because you believe it to be fun does not make it right." Her hands balled into fists.

I tiled my head, "I rather enjoyed our time together last night, but I'm not entirely sure your friends would think that was right either." Those emerald eyes went wide, surveying around us to be sure none of her friends could hear me.

I chuckled, "Don't worry, they are still inside. And relax, I'm not gonna say anything."

The beautiful alien gave me a confused look, "You are not?"

I shrugged, "I have no reason to. Besides, I kind of want to do it again, minus the part where you try to kill me and I give you advice on what to do about that idiotic Bird Boy."

An uncomfortable frown tugged at her lips. "I wish you would not insult Robin every time we speak."

She was rapidly making me reconsider these newfound lurches and leaps that occurred in my torso at every thought or sight of her. I was beginning to wonder why I had ever thought this girl was worth my time. "You're really killing my buzz, babe." My fingers played with a frayed string hanging off the strap of the backpack still thrown over my shoulder as I contemplated my taste in women. "Here I was all excited to see you and now you are ruining what would be our second date with lectures."

Her response was nothing short of unexpected. Her emerald eyes enlarged. Both of her fists resolved into outstretched fingers nervously fiddling at her sides. "You… you were excited to see me?" The way she said it almost made me feel sorry for the poor thing. The way she spoke made it seem like the trivial thing was as important and heartfelt as a confession of love.

I smirked. "Well yeah. Other than having orders from the bossman, I also came here hoping to see you." A deep blush traced her tan cheeks. Those plump, pink lips moved wordlessly as if she were considering a response.

"Maybe… under different circumstances… I would also be able to feel the excitement of seeing you." Her words were almost a whisper, but the weight they carried was enough for that unfamiliar, sickening, fluttering jumble to rack its way through my insides. Her entire face flushed as she appeared to evaluate the words she had just spoken. Just before I was able to counter with any remark to help ease her obvious discomfort at the honest confession, a birdmarang sliced through the air from the dying smoke behind Starfire and nicked my shoulder.

"Maybe next time we can plan something a tad more romantic then…" My eyes narrowed, "and less crowded."

"X!" Robin's harsh voice bellowed from within the smoke followed by a haggard cough.

"Damn. Looks like our time here is up, babe. Maybe next time you can leave your boyfriend behind and we can have some real fun." I winked at her from behind my mask and for the first time in years, a genuine smile forced its way to my lips. Luckily, she couldn't see it. Her fingers stretched out towards me.

"Please wait…" My heart did another unhealthy stutter at her tender plead. Her voice sounded so soft and gentle when she spoke. I was almost tempted to oblige, if not for the smoke bombs clearing from inside of the bank. We couldn't have much of a good time if I were rotting in a cell.

"Cover your mouth." She stared at me in confusion but obeyed, placing both hand over her nose and mouth. I quickly grabbed another smoker from my belt and slammed it onto the pavement in front of me. "I'll see you again soon, Starfire." I muttered the words before I vanished down an alley, leaving the stunned alien alone amidst a veil of thick smoke and leaving myself aching to know the reason behind her wanting me to stay.

* * *

 **Starfire's POV:**

I had not meant to speak such things. I could not understand my own actions when it came to the thief, Red X. I should have fought him. I should have taken him down as I would any other villain then proceeded to return the bag of currency to the people of the bank. Instead, I permitted myself to express feeling I should definitely not be harboring for a criminal and in doing so, allowed the dangerous man to escape with his stolen prize. That made another thought cross my mind: was he really dangerous? He has always fought back against my friends and myself when confronted but has never seemed to actually cause any of us real harm. In fact, from the countless locations that Red X has stolen from, there have never been any reported injuries aside from a few scrapes or scratches. He's never threatened to destroy the Titans or their city. Not that I am to believe he is not a criminal. Killer or not, dangerous or not, stealing is still a crime. However, I could not bring myself to hate him or to want to hurt him the way my friends did. There was something indescribable I felt every time I was in his presence, hence why I was silly enough to beg him to wait. Why? Silly, selfish reasons, really. I was not ready for the bubbly internal desire to dissipate just yet. I knew once he was gone, it would leave with him and I would be back to feeling something that I never even knew I felt until yesterday: empty.

I shook my head, trying to rid it of the unseen forces that seemed to be clogging the parts of my brain that allowed me to think logically, but to no avail. These forces must be far more powerful than a mere head shake could alleviate.

"Star! There you are." Raven appeared beside me. She first stared at me to apparently check me for damages before her violet eyes ventured around in search of the target. "Where is Red X?"

Guilt weighed heavy in my numerous stomachs. "He… got away." I nervously rubbed at my forearm and avoided my friend's critical stare. Robin darted out from the bank and rushed through the smoke cloud pluming upward in the spot that Red X stood only seconds ago. I could not see him amongst the smoke, but I heard his verbal frustration in the form of a loud snarl as he too realized that the criminal had escaped. Once the smoke had cleared, and all of the Titans had been accounted for, the hostages I had rescued began talking avidly with Cyborg and Beastboy. I assume they were recounting the robbery with them. Robin continued surveying the area for any clues as to where Red X must have escaped to. That left only Raven and myself to stand stoically in front of the bank, watching the others working for answers.

"So," Raven did not remove her gaze from an irritated Robin tracing and retracing steps around the street and surrounding alleyways in front of the bank. "Care to tell me how Red X escaped?" The miniscule hairs seemed to rise on the back of my neck. "He was, um, the quick?" I knew by the slight tilt of her eyebrow that my explanation was not believable, but I had not had the amount of time needed to rid my mind of my second 'private' meeting with Red X. My stomachs were doing a strange dance around each other while my heart threatened to escape my body all together. After Red X's confession of his excitement to see me, I found myself unable to control the comforting warmth that flooded through my veins; the chaos raging just beneath my skin in the form of something I had never felt before. I had very little time to contemplate whether I was having the failure of the organs or simply going insane, for Robin was now standing in front of me with a less than compassionate look on his face.

"So, what happened, Star?" The accusation was thick on his tongue. My eyes hastily fell to the uninteresting cracks in the pavement and my fingers once again rubbed apprehensively at my forearm.

"I, um, I'm not entirely sure." It wasn't a lie but it was also far less than what Robin was looking for.

"What the hell does that mean?" His hand moved like lightening to strike out and grip the wrist of my fidgeting hand. The pressure wasn't quite painful but it certainly wasn't gentle. I forced myself to meet his furious glare. "Did he attack you?"

"No not exactly…"

"Then what? How the hell did he possibly get away then? Why didn't you go after him?"

"I… I do not know."

You don't know? You're strong, you're fast, you can fly! So how could he possibly get away from you without attacking you?" His voice was laced with something sinister.

"Robin, I-"

"Tell me." His hand gripped tighter on my wrist eliciting a wince from me. My lips moved wordlessly up and down. I had no answer for him, at least not one that he would accept.

"I'm sorry, Robin. I did not mean to allow the criminal to escape. Next time I will not make the same mistake."

A disgusted scoff left his lips. "You seem to keep having _'mistakes'_ when it comes to him."

"They are not intentional."

"It doesn't matter! You are a hero, Starfire: a Teen Titan. He is a villain and he needs to be stopped." He thrust my wrist from his grasp as if I had burned him. "If you're going to continue to be useless against him, I'll just catch him myself." The fluttering in my gut ceased at his words and was replaced with a tingling numbness.

"No, please. Allow me to assist-"

"Forget it, Star." He swiped his hand through the air in frustration before storming off down a random alley. I took a step after him, desperate to make things right.

"Let him go." A heavy, metal hand laid delicately on my shoulder. Cyborg was staring down at me with a look of pure sympathy. I knew everyone else on the team understood my strong feelings towards our leader, but Cyborg always seemed to be the one most affected by the disagreements Robin and I had. "He didn't mean any of it, Star. He's just upset; you know how he is. Talk to him later when he cools off."

A semblance of a smile traced my lips just before Beastboy scoffed. He crossed his arms, "Yeah right. He'll be worse later." I caught Raven and Cyborg flash the green-skinned boy a look of exasperation. My smile dropped. "What? It's the truth! You know how he gets; he gets all crazy and obsessed and he won't let this drop until Red X is behind bars or until he's gone completely insane." He flailed his arms around to enunciate his point. Raven and Cyborg continued glaring at Beastboy as he proceeded to vocalize the truth we all subconsciously knew. Robin was exactly as Beastboy described every time we came up against an enemy that outwitted us. We had almost completely lost him after his fixation with defeating Slade. The mere memories of who Robin so willingly became sent shivers of horror down my spine: those hate-fueled eyes, the malice his tongue spat with every word he spoke to us, the cruelty he showed me when he saw Slade where I could not.

I could not take listening to my friends recount Robin's lack of judgement when hunting down his targets anymore, not right now. I hugged my arms and dismissed myself politely, opting to walk home by myself to free my thoughts. I was thankful they did not ask why I had decided to walk and not fly, though there were few doubts in my mind that they did not understand the cause behind my inability to soar home. A heavy sigh fled my lungs. I knew I had to try to bring Robin back from the edge beginning the moment I got home. I would have to try to drag him back out from the thick of his hopeless endeavor before he was so gone he could never be brought back. One other thing I hoped to accomplish tonight was to ease the confusing stress on my heart by finally inquiring about Robin's true affections for me. Though nervous, I knew my affection towards the thief was just an added stressor to Robin's current obsessive behavior. So I figured that the easiest way to keep my heart away from Red X was to finally give it to Robin. I smiled a hopeful smile and continued my long walk back to the tower with thoughts of how to go about expressing my ' _excitement'_ for the masked hero. I just prayed that Red X was not correct about Robin's inability to put anything above crime fighting.

* * *

 **Red X's POV:**

I dropped the heavy bag of cash at the masked man's feet. "There ya go." I intertwined my fingers together then flexed them out away from me. "You're welcome." Slade never appeared pleased with me. In fact, it seemed every time I did exactly as instructed, he always managed to find some fault in the way I complete every task; this time was obviously not going to be any different. He continued to sit in his throne with one leg casually tossed over the other and his hands held in the form of a pyramid beneath where I imagine his mouth line ran. His eye was narrowed at me. I continued to stubbornly stare back at him until the tense silence grew suffocating and I opted to crossing my arms with an irritated sigh. "What now?"

He stared for only a moment more before turning away from me to face his flashing screens adorning the wall behind his chair. "If she is going to become a problem for you, then I'll gladly eliminate her."

My stomach lurched. "What are you talking about?"

"Starfire."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just having some fun messing with Robin. Maybe you need to relax."

Slade's shoulders shook as an evil cackle left his lips. "Don't take me for a fool. I've seen your interactions. Tell yourself what you wish, but we both know the truth. And unfortunately, if she becomes too much of a distraction, I will gladly eradicate her myself… slowly… painfully."

I don't know where it came from, but somewhere between my liver and my gut, a handful of matches seemed to come ablaze at his words. Indigestion was never a health issue I had until that very moment. I could taste the bile in the back of my throat; its acid pilfering through my esophagus.

"What the hell did you just say?" I stomped my foot like a demanding child.

"I believe you heard me, unless your hearing is as bad as your judgement."

I snarled. "I've done everything you've asked, Slade. But when we made this deal, we agreed that I would do exactly what you want but that I would do it _my_ way. Did we not?" I could feel the raw anger engulfing me as Slade proceeded to sit with his back to me.

"Who would've thought one little kiss and a meager amount of attention was all it took to win you over." He scoffed in disgust. "You're pathetic." That was the line. I drew my hands into fists and rushed at my soon-to-be former boss's back. With god-like speed, Slade spun his chair around and grabbed me up by the neck. "A large fraction of our partnership is dependent on removing the Titan's from this Earth. Now tell me, how is that possibly going to work if you are _screwing_ one of them?" I fought vigorously to escape his steal grasp but his fingers only tightened around my throat and lifted me until I was standing on the tips of my boots.

"We… aren't… screwing."

"Don't be a fool, child. I see everything that goes on in this city. I know every word you've spoken to her, every move you've attempted to make to put yourself higher than Robin on the totem pole. Do you honestly think she could ever care for you? Ever think of you as anything more than a criminal? You mean nothing to her. The only reason she has given you even a semblance of affection is because Robin has yet to give into his feelings for her. But the moment he does," Slade used his free hand to snap his fingers, "You'll be nothing."

I felt that same raw hatred flood through my oxygen-deprived veins. My wobbly fist slung out at him but missed by millimeters and fell back down at my side. Black splotches bubbled and popped around my vision as his grip tightened to a devastating degree around my neck; any tighter, and I knew it would rupture and leave me lifeless.

"I am all you have. I am your boss, your _master_ , and you will do _exactly_ as I say in the _precise_ way that I tell you. No more, no less. Do you hear me, Xavier?" If he expected a response, he was a moron. I could barely hear him around the loud pumping of blood in my ears. My throat was too restricted to make any kind of sound. My eyes slowly began to close and I honestly was almost welcoming death. Maybe it would finally allow me a release from this hell I call a life. Unfortunately, Slade's fingers unknotted and I crumpled on the ground, sputtering for air. "Good boy. I'm glad we have come to an understanding. Now, next time you face the Titans, I want to see some real effort." My vision slowly returned but my limbs were still disoriented. I watched him calmly return to his throne, turning away from me once more. "You are dismissed for the evening, X. I'll be in touch."

Once I was able to regain my bearing, I unsteadily swayed to my feet and hurried out of the room before I tried, and miserably failed again, to kill that psychotic prick. But no matter how much distance I put between myself and that dank prison he called a lair, I couldn't vanquish his voice repeating those haunting words. Just last night, I was telling myself to forget these rampant emotions for the Titan, yet here I was craving her presence and losing my cool over a threat on her life. "I need a drink." The solution rolled off my tongue as I fought the images of that bewitching female from my cognizance.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This took forever, I know. But the next chapter is almost complete as well, considering this was going to be one big chapter but I figured instead, I'd go ahead and break it up into two. Please let me know if you are still with me! Again, sorry it took so long. You know how life is. -_-**

 **Oh, by the way, I once again wrote this and edited late at night (since that's the only time I'm free) so I'll go back through and edit more as needed when I get free time BEFORE midnight. lol**

 **Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited, or are following this story! You keep me motivated to continue. 3**


	7. Chapter Six: Obsession

**Here it is! Thank you all so much for the motivation to crank this puppy out! I've been extremely busy so writing has been difficult, but I won't be abandoning this story! I promise! (:**

* * *

Chapter Six: _Obsession_

 _Obsession can be a good thing, in moderation. But that's just the problem, isn't it? Something only becomes an obsession once it takes hold of you; it encompasses you; everything you do and think revolves around that obsession until it has completely engulfed you. The worst part about obsession, is the unshakable loneliness it will leave you with once it has successfully taken over and pushed everything else that you once held dear or deemed important in your life, out. Obsession is a poison. And like any good poison, it will kill you from the inside out; gradually, excruciatingly, without you even realizing it is happening until it has already consumed you._

 **Robin's POV:**

It felt like I had only been locked away in my room, hacking into servers and databases across the city in search of any signs of Red X, for twenty minutes, but one swift glance at the clock proved that it had actually been closer to six hours; six hours in front of the glowing computer screen. I could feel a migraine building behind my strained eyes as I continued to tap away at the keys of my computer. I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was ridiculous. Where the hell could he have gone? How was he always so elusive? This of course led to other thoughts. Like, what actually happened with Red X and Starfire outside of the bank? I knew it had to be something, otherwise she would've had a better excuse than the crap she fed me about simply _'making a mistake'_ by letting him get away. Perhaps that kiss on the roof wasn't so one sided after all. My jaw contracted at the vexing idea. Before I had any more time to dwell on these thoughts, a light tap sounded on the outside of my door for the seventh time since we had returned to the tower after our run-in with X. I had ignored every visit, knowing that at least four of them had been Starfire, and the others were from Raven and Cyborg. I don't know what they were wanting, because I ignored their knocking and continued working, responding with either silence or an annoyed, "I'm busy." However, now, I was at somewhat of a standstill in my quest while waiting for the database to continue its face recognition analysis.

I had been in here for what I assume to have been about two days… maybe closer to three considering how off my understanding of time seemed to be at the moment. I rubbed at my eyes with the palms of my hands in a desperate attempt to relieve them of the sleep I knew they were urgently trying to remind me that I needed. My muscles ached from sitting in the same position for endless hours at a time. My butt was thankfully no longer sore and now elected to be entirely numb from pressing into the cushion of my computer chair for hours on end. My fingers throbbed with the arthritis I knew they were slowly developing with every new tap of the keys.

In total, I'm sure the only amount of sleep I had gotten was in short intervals when I would finally pass out from fatigue at my desk and awake to the insufferable pinging sound of my keyboard from my face pressing down too many keys at once. I didn't need sleep, at least, that's what I was convincing myself. I didn't want to allow myself such a luxury until I completed the task I had set forth for myself to accomplish. Some would say I was obsessing, but I didn't believe that was the right word for what it was I was doing. Persistent was the word I would use. What the rest of the team didn't seem to comprehend was the fact that we have been placed in a position of power, and with that power comes obligation. It shouldn't only be _me_ missing sleep, skipping meals, and exhausting myself with the hunt, it should be all of us. I knew while I was tirelessly working, the team was likely slacking off and simply enjoying the quiet that seemed to have overcome our city the past few days.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were likely challenging each other to some mind rotting video game. Raven was either enjoying a book or meditating in her room. And Starfire…. I cared not to think what she was doing. Thoughts of her made my insides churn. To say I was over the kiss shared between her and the criminal that was currently engulfing all of my free time would be an utter lie. I was still hurt and confused over the entire event. I slapped my cheek as a desperate, tired attempt to alleviate myself from the haunting images to repeat themselves. Unfortunately, I also couldn't help but ponder curiously over what it was that had occurred between Star and X outside of the bank the other day. What could have-

Just as the questions started back up again in the far recesses of my cognizance, the database search in front of me dinged back with a match. All signs of exhaustion and confusion lifted as I clicked into the camera to view the footage it claimed to have found. The image was a blurry, black and white picture of Red X jumping down into the alley, glancing right at the camera and waving to acknowledge that he knew he was being filmed. I snarled. "Cocky prick," I muttered. I could make out the rough outline of a fuzzy looking bundle slung over the left shoulder of the criminal on the film that I knew must be the bag of stolen cash. Just as the boy on the feed tramped over to stand directly in the camera's shot, he flipped it off before holding out his hand, palm up, and shot one of his famous goopy X's over the lens. The footage went dark and that was it.

I slammed my fist on the table, "Dammit! That's it?!" An inhumane growl snarled from between my clenched teeth. After all of that searching, all of that work, that was all that I could come up with?! I buried my tired face into my hands, running my fingers impatiently through my tangled, unwashed hair. The movement of my locks released a slight aroma of sweat and musk reminding me that I should probably retire from my search long enough for a quick shower. Instead, however, I opted to spray a dab of cologne sitting on one of the shelves above my workplace to assuage the stench. Satisfied that the smell was subdued, I closed out of the program that proved itself to be worthless and reopened another with hope that it would find something more than a crude shot of the villain. I had begun my pursuit by hacking into the city library, ironic, considering I could easily walk there and do the research for free. I scrolled through every newspaper article written about the elusive criminal in hopes of finding a pattern or, really, any useful detail. Naturally, there wasn't much there that I didn't already know. No patterns, no revealing details, and hardly even a decent picture of the culprit. They all looked like big, blurred blobs of black because they always seemed to be capturing the photographs as the crook was running. "Coward." I scoffed. My fingers typed furiously away, hacking my way through the encryptions and passcodes to get into the city's servers.

I hadn't even realized I had once again fallen asleep with my face against the cool wood of my desk, drool dribbling out of the corner of my lip. I sat up with a startle, unaware of what time it was, how long I had been out, or what it was exactly that awoke me from my unplanned nap. That's when I heard another soft knock on my door.

"Robin? I know that you are busy, but may we please talk?" Starfire's voice was so small and hesitant sounding as if she were frightened of how I would react. I turned my stare back to my computer, watching the codes glide across the screen as the new program Cyborg had installed continued running its face recognition process through every stop light camera, crime detection camera that was strategically placed in random areas around the city, as well as internal video feed from every business in Jump City. Needless to say, it would take a while. At least I got the program running its search before I unceremoniously decided to pass out. A frustrated sigh left my lips. I ran an anxious hand through my wild hair before tentatively deciding to take a moment away from the screen, knowing if I didn't do it now, she would only return again later and inevitably interrupt me once again. A yawn escaped my lips. I rubbed at my eyes to steady my vision and stood from my chair. I groaned at the tightness in my knees from sitting in the same position for so long. The motion tugged at every muscle when I got to full height and opened the door to see a shy smile gently pull at the corners of Starfire's lips at the sight of me. I knew she hadn't seen or heard anything from me in days, so the excitement in her eyes must have been from realization that I wasn't deceased and rotting in my room. A second yawn accidentally escaped me before I was able to greet her.

"Hey, Star. What's up?" My voice sounded dry. I assume it was from lack of use or perhaps I was dehydrated; who knows. I had to remember to sneak down to the kitchen at some point to get a bottle of water. I wasn't about to let something as silly as thirst be the death of me.

The alien girl's smile dropped at the sight of me. I could tell by the way her uneasy eyes looked me up and down that I must look disheveled and exhausted. I followed her stare down at the lanky, sallow form beneath me. I was sure I had lost a few pounds from not eating much for the past few days, but the truth was, I just wasn't hungry. I always got like that when I was pursuing a target. When Slade was the prime nemesis on my list, I'm sure I lost ten pounds the week I was busily shuffling through files and articles and anything else I had on the criminal. Thinking of him again made that old flame of rage light within me but I quickly snuffed it out, reminding myself that he was dead: we had won.

Star was still eyeing me when I was drawn out of my thoughts and back to the tall beauty standing in my doorway. The examination of my appearance lasted a few seconds longer than what I deemed comfortable before she started doing her familiar nervous habit of rubbing her upper arm with her hand and gnawing on her lower lip. Just watching her anxious behavior was making me apprehensive as to why she was standing in my doorway. I assumed it was going to be a talk about my conduct earlier in the day, but by the way she was acting, I didn't think that was all she had to discuss. I shifted uncomfortably between my feet.

"Um, so… did you need something? Or…"

"May I come in for a moment?"

I lifted a brow at her abrupt interruption. She rubbed more vigorously at her forearm, clearly uncomfortable under my scrutinizing stare.

"I mean, I understand that you are the busy, but I promise not to take too much of your time. I just cared to discuss some things with you." I almost decided against her request, but considering the strange, new look in her eye and her odd behavior, I opted to hear her out. Besides, I owed her at least that much. I had already avoided her for two days now…. Or was it three? I shook the fog from my heavy head and stepped to the side and extended an arm towards the bed as a silent invitation to enter. She obliged and gracefully made her way over to my bed to take a seat. I returned to the chair at my computer desk and rotated it around so that I was facing her. I placed my elbows on my knees, leaning forward slightly as I waited to hear what the still fidgety girl had on her mind.

"I had wished to discuss this with you the day it had occurred; however you were unreachable. I knocked, but I did not receive a response. Cyborg informed me that he too had tried to retrieve you from your room shortly before I did, and that you had told him you were simply busy, so I need not worry." From the look on her face, she had ignored his request and had obviously been worrying herself anyway. "I have tried to have the discussion with you for days now, but I believe I have been merely a hindrance for interrupting you. I am glad to see you are… well." The way she said 'well' was confirmation on my physical appearance and made me self-conscious of the scent I was radiating hours ago. The cologne had probably worn off by now and was once again replaced with the stench of shower-less days. I chopped it up to being out of my control at this point, and glanced over my shoulder at the computer.

"You said this would be quick." My words came off snarkier than I had intended, but Star merely nodded.

"Indeed I did."

She released a long, heavy sigh. "I want to begin by apologizing for being so… useless at the bank robbery. I did not mean to be the cause of our enemy's escape. I truly feel awful. I am the cause for your deteriorating health at the moment as you search for the criminal that I allowed to get away."

My frustration towards my teammate returned when she brought the topic back up for debate. I knew she was sincerely apologetic. Hell, from the tone of her voice to the way she was brought almost to tears during her apology, I knew she felt horrible for what happened. Unfortunately, I was already irritable from running on little to no sleep and from the images that plagued me of her with that bastard by the meager sight of her, they continued on a loop in my mind. I crossed my arms, leaning against the back of my chair. "Care to explain why that was, now?"

She nibbled her lower lip. "I was momentarily distracted by the kindness he showed me. I was not expecting it and I suppose it was what caused me to forget my duty."

My veins burned. He was _nice_ to her? Nice how? What the hell could he have said, or worse, _done_ to make her _'momentarily forget her duty?'_ I rubbed the pad of my index finger in small, rhythmic circles against my temple. "Maybe we should talk about something else. I'm kind of in the middle of something and this is going nowhere." Starfire glanced up at me and muttered an apology before dropping her gaze once more.

"Alright… Do you remember our talk on the roof five days ago?" Wait, _five_ days?! It has been five whole days since our night together on the roof? So it had been four days since our run in with X at the bank? Wow. I was definitely off when I thought it had only been two. That meant I had gone almost an entire week with hardly any sustenance… or a shower. Now the smell radiating off of me made a lot more sense. I wrinkled my nose, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Once my mind completed its comprehension of what day it was, I recognized what she was asking me.

My eyes widened slightly as I pondered over just where this discussion could be going. Was she finally going to tell me what was up between her and that bastard Red X? Or was this pertaining to the kiss we almost shared? My cheeks flushed. I swallowed the dry lump forming in my throat praying it was the former. This was definitely not a good time to talk about the feelings I'm not even supposed to have for my fellow teammate. I flashed her a crooked smile, a very forced one, and nodded, understanding that she was patiently waiting for a response from me.

"Of course."

She finally met my stare for a brief second before her eyes fell back to her fumbling fingers in her lap. "I was hoping to continue our conversation." I waited while she gathered herself. I could tell by the way her eyebrows furrowed together that she was concentrating hard on what to say next. While she was temporarily distracted by her own thoughts, I took that as my chance to glance over my shoulder and check the screen for any new information. Of course, the repetitive numbers were still sliding across the screen indicating that nothing had been found to match my search.

"I have… the feelings for you, Robin. Feelings that I do not believe are merely shared for fellow friends or blood relations." That caught me off guard. My head snapped back around to face her. A blush was evident on her cheeks and I could feel the heat growing on my own face as I realized what she was saying. No, this was not the discussion I wanted to have right now.

"Oh." My heart was pounding in my ears. I hoped she would say something else so that I didn't have to try to process through this right now with so many other pressing issues on my mind.

"I have had these feelings for a long time now, and I cannot say that I have not wondered if you too feel it."

Her shoulders tensed. "I understand that you are under the assumption that I have the feelings for the thief, Red X, but Robin…" Her eyes finally looked up from her now still fingers to stare directly at me. There was a new fire burning in those emerald eyes. "You are the one I have strong emotions for; it is you that I want to be with."

My mouth fell agape at her confession. My heart has ached for this moment for years now. I've had countless dreams that involved Starfire confessing her love for me. Unfortunately, my brain was not in the same place as my heart. My brain was still in hero mode while my heart was begging me to pull the gorgeous alien into my arms, confess everything I felt for her, and never let her go.

Unfortunately for my heart, my brain was far more stubborn and determined. I had grown accustom to ignoring what my heart yearned for in order to keep a level head and maintain my professionalism as the protector of Jump City. Bruce, more commonly known as Batman, taught me everything I know from math and science to how to fight and hunt down criminals in Gotham. He instilled within me the ideology that my job comes first; this city comes before myself. He taught me that the safety of the innocence was on my shoulders; I am a protector, a knight of the darkness, a warrior against the evil in this world. My personal feelings must be placed on the backburner to avoid enforcing my enemies with an obvious weakness. I can't be selfish, and because of this, love is something I'm not permitted to feel. Isolation is a kind companion when trying to avoid temptation; to evade breaking my firmly set rules.

But the way she was looking at me; the way those deep emerald pools were staring at me awaiting my response, it was almost impossible not to throw all of my training out of the window and just allow myself to selfishly force my lips upon hers and truly show her how much she means to me. I knew that wasn't an option though. I knew I could never be with her. The 'almost' kiss on the roof was nearly a vital mistake that I fortunately wasn't able to make. As much as I hate Red X, I had to thank him for interrupting a moment that would have ruined everything I've ever worked to achieve. I was feeble and foolish to tolerate my guard to drop like that. Her words were spinning around in my head like a record on repeat. I had to break our eye contact for fear that I would give her the answer I knew she was dying to hear; the factual answer my heart longed to give. My fists tightly clenched up wads of the material covering my thighs and I knew my next words would shatter both of our hearts, but it was what I had to do as a hero and as the leader of this team. Every muscle in my body tightened to an uncomfortably painful degree as I forced the words out of my throat. "I... can't." I saw her stand up out of the corner of my eye and take a step back as if she didn't quite comprehend what I had just said.

"You cannot… what, Robin?" Her voice was already wavering with the tears I knew were bound to fall. I closed my eyes behind my mask, forbidding Richard to resurface and take control.

"We can't do this, Star. It's irresponsible and we have far too much going on right now to think about something like that."

I heard her take in a sharp breath. "I do not consider it to be the irresponsible. I believe you are just frightened, as am I. But I believe that we could be truly happy together and that it could in fact strengthen us. Love is a powerful thing, Robin. It can-"

My shoulders drooped slightly as I cut her off before I changed my mind on how this situation should go. I held up a hand to prevent her from continuing and then I muttered those horrible words, "I don't love you, Star. We're… just… friends. That's all we will ever be." The lie was almost impossible to choke out. I could almost hear her heart shattering as she allowed my words to sink in. She said nothing for a long time, and for a moment I thought maybe she had left my room. I didn't dare look up at her to see for sure. Then, she let out a shaky sigh. Her voice was thick with unshed tears and a sadness I've never imagined possible for her to feel.

"I understand. I am sorry for my abrupt assault. I should not have come here tonight."

I compressed my jaw tightly. Everything inside of me felt numb. I almost couldn't bear the devastating twinge in every one of my muscles. She turned away, hesitating in my doorway, as if she was anticipating, praying, that I would change my mind. I saw her glance over her shoulder at me and my body tensed, "Just promise me that you will not allow the obsession over finding Red X to consume you. I cannot bear to lose you to another criminal." I didn't respond, unsure of what to say. She, like everyone else, believed what I was doing was unhealthy. But what none of them understood is that I was simply doing my job. Finding the bad guys wasn't going to happen by us all behaving like regular teenagers; enjoying shows on television and lazing about; and considering everyone else had busied themselves with such luxuries, I had to be the one to step up and do what needed to be done. Sacrifices had to be made and I seemed to be the only one willing to make them. I decided it was best not to respond since I had already said enough hurtful things tonight…or was it today? I really needed to figure out what time frame I was in. Star let out another uneven sigh of frustration and hurt at my lack of response or emotion to the situation, before turning around in the doorway and stepped out into the hallway. The second she finally walked out of my room, I shut the door behind her before I mistakenly ran after her, and instead collapsed into myself. This was for the best; I had to keep repeating that to myself to avoid the overwhelming realization of my actions. This is what Bruce would have told me to do; what he would've done in this situation… right?

My fists could no longer stand to sit stark still at my sides, and began lashing out at every defenseless item they could reach: my lamp, the framed photos on my desk of the team and old memories of the past, and then they met the partition rupturing a crater through the drywall. I let out a furious growl as my knuckles hit everything they could. Once there was nothing left within my reach, I suddenly felt drained. It was as if a switch flicked off in my brain sanctioning every raw emotion to cease its course throughout my body; permitting all the racking sadness and pain to briefly subside. With a precarious breath, I turned back to my computer and decided to throw myself once more into the hunt. Pursuing criminals is what I was born for and is what I must do to protect those I care about; and it's also a very good means of distracting my soul from giving up on myself all together to end this inevitable suffering.

As I sat, staring at the screen, waiting for any sign of my target, I couldn't halt the onslaught of questions about what I had just done and what this meant for Star and me. Would she leave? Would she avoid me now? Have I just lost her for good? My nostrils flared. The whole point of breaking her heart was so I could focus on being a good hero. That will all have been in vein if I'm just going to continue to sulk and tire myself over 'what-ifs'. I quickly shut the switch in my brain back off and began typing away at the computer, pinpointing specific area cameras to run through so as to keep myself busy and of course, to finally find this bastard. So far, I had found seven cameras with footage of Red X from the day of the robbery a week ago. Each caught him walking towards random alleyways and all of them were from various locations, giving me no real idea of what direction or location he had been heading to. He was smart, I had to give him that. He was very aware of every camera and their locations throughout the city. I knew this because even without glancing over at the cameras he would give a lazy wave once he was directly centered on the feed. I doubted he did that kind of research on his own, which meant he had to have help; someone who was working with him. But who? And since when did Red X have a partner? So many more questions formulated in my already crowded brain. We had to find out who was helping him, but first, we had to figure out where he was hiding out.

While I was busying myself, I also began conjuring up a few ideas to track him the next time we had a run in with the criminal, just in case our team had another horrible "lack of judgement" and allowed him to escape into the shadows once more.

* * *

It had been about two days since my talk with Star, meaning seven days since the bank robbery. I had been very careful to keep track of the day and time since Starfire unintentionally informed me of just how long I had been in my room, unaware of how different time had been passing for me compared to the rest of the world. I had still hardly left my room aside from using the restroom and sneaking a couple of sandwiches and water bottle from the kitchen when I knew no one was awake to hold me over while I continued conjuring up a plan. I did decide to take a shower yesterday because the stench of myself had honestly become unbearable. I hadn't locked myself away in my room just to avoid her crestfallen features or to avoid the judgmental stares I knew I would receive from the rest of my team for what happened between Starfire and me, as I assumed she had informed them. I was also very close to finding Red X; at least, that's what I had convinced myself to avoid losing motivation in my search.

He was like a ghost. There was no footage of him anywhere on the city cameras, and since the bank robbery the other day, he hasn't attempted any other theft. It was as if he had completely vanished. My frustration only seemed to grow with every second that passed without any clues. My team may believe I was obsessed, but they have always just been less motivated than me when it came to catching criminals. They were less serious about our role as Jump City's protectors than myself. I took our job seriously and sometimes, I wished my team was more like me. Perhaps if they were, we would've already caught Red X and threw his ass behind bars by now. There had been a few knocks on my door over the past two days, but I easily ignored it. I made sure to at least muster up some form of a response so that the visitors at least knew I was alive and wouldn't try to bust down my door to make sure I wasn't a rotting corpse on my floor. There were no emergencies; the signal hadn't gone off even once so I knew they were just trying to get me out of my room and to socialize but I had more important things to focus on. My jaw flexed as I hit yet another dead end in my search. My fist hit the wooden desk with a few muttered curses. This was getting ridiculous! How in the hell could he just disappear?!

* * *

 **Red X's POV:**

I hadn't put that suit on since my fun little chat with Slade a week ago. Instead, I had spent most of my time in my own skin, opting to leave the suit at home while hitting up the bars along the strip. I thought he would've tried contacting me by now, but thankfully, he hadn't. Maybe I pissed him off a little more than usual. _Good,_ I thought, _he deserves it._ Luckily, I had enough Xenothium for at least a couple more robberies and I was doing just fine on money thanks to Slade's _generous_ 'allowance.'

I liked to think of it that way so that it seemed like he was paying for all of my drinks. I lifted the glass slightly, "Cheers," I muttered to no one in particular before I tossed the strong, mahogany elixir down my throat and then slammed the empty glass on the bar. A warm tingle rushed through my veins, giving me a momentary release from the stress of life. "Thank you, Slade." My voice was snide and covered in sarcasm. I ushered the bartender over to refill my glass before downing that one too. I had done a little bit of harmless flirting with a few ladies that dared approach me while I was enjoying my solitude at the end of the bar every night, but it never went farther than that. Could it have? Pshhh, of course. I just didn't have the desire for some reason. A couple of them made it obnoxiously obvious how badly they wanted me to take them home with me, but at that point in the conversation, I would usually end up dismissing them which resulted in a few hateful slurs at my expense. I would just shrug and order another drink, caring very little what some bar tramps had to say about me.

I knew consuming so much of the intoxicating elixir was not a good idea, not in the state I was in. My encounter with Slade had shook me to the core. Not because he scared me or intimidated me, or whatever. But because of what he had said about Starfire; his threats on her life if I continued to play with her. I tried to warm the cold shiver that ran through my spine every time his words rekindled in my mind with booze; this was not a very good idea. It honestly only seemed to make the nights seem lonelier once I would arrive back to my empty apartment after last call every night, rather morning, depending on which bar I would end up at. I was especially second guessing my decision to come to the bar tonight and the choice to down shot after shot when that obnoxious blue light began flashing on the fancy watch Slade made me wear so he could reach me even out of the suit. A drunken gurgling sound groaned out between my lips as I pulled out my cell phone and dialed that familiar number. "Yep, what do you want, _Master?"_ The sarcastic words slurred more than I had hoped, and naturally, Slade noticed. His voice was laced with annoyance.

"I have an assignment for you. I suppose it can wait until tomorrow, when you are sober. I sent you the details."

I scoffed, "Is that all? I'm off tonight." The other end of the line went dead for a long second and I honestly thought he had hung up on me.

"You've been 'off' for a week now. No matter. I also received intel on a new shipment of Xenothium arriving in the city tomorrow night. I assumed it would be easier for you to retrieve at the docks instead of trying to work your way through passcodes and sensors once it is delivered to its next destination, but seeing as how you have been continuously intoxicated, perhaps not."

One unfortunate side effect of alcohol was that it made me more stubborn and ballsy than usual. I smirked. "I'm not drunk, Slade. It takes quite a bit to put me out." I ran a finger around the rim of my empty shot glass a few times before reaching into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out a few twenties more than my tab, laying them down on the bar. The bartender was watching me from down the way and gave me an appreciative nod. I waved to him before hopping off the barstool. "Besides, I've been bored. I could use some fun." I smiled as I exited the bar to head back to my apartment. "Hell, got anything for me to do tonight?"

"Don't be foolish, boy. You'd best be sober when you go to the docks tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah." I tapped the end call button before shoving the phone back into the pocket of my jeans. Fuck him. As I walked, the cool evening breeze seemed to begin sobering me up, causing the grogginess from the lack of sleep I've had the last couple of nights to finally hit me. My eyelids felt heavier with every blink. Maybe Slade was right. Perhaps I should just wait until tomorrow when I go to get the element for my suit before doing anything too exciting. I rubbed the back of my neck in annoyance at my own indecisiveness. The walk was helping me clear my head, but it was also bringing along with it unwanted questions and thoughts that I didn't really care to think about; or even understand why I was thinking them. My mind immediately turned to thoughts of _her._ What was she doing right now? Judging by the time, she had probably been asleep for hours now. I was jealous at the idea of her ability to so easily sleep while I couldn't thanks to her. My gut felt heavy remembering her confession about Robin and how much she cared for him. Why couldn't someone feel that way about me? No, not just someone. Why couldn't _she_ feel that way about me?

 _Because you are a criminal; a no good piece of shit._ My jaw contracted. I shoved my hands into my jean pockets. It was true, I knew that. I have never been known as an idiot. I'm self-aware; I know the person I am and I know that someone like her could never care for someone like me. Why should she? She's a hero. She needs a hero. But _Robin?_ I mean, there are other heroes out there that would be more than grateful to catch her eye for even a moment if she was into the whole 'do-gooder' type. My lips tugged down into a frown as I pondered over whether she had talked to him about their feelings and all that jazz yet. Part of me hoped not. Another, more selfish and sinister part of me hoped they had, and that he didn't feel the same way; that he turned her down, broke her heart, and that she would finally get over him. But to be honest, the thought of a heartbroken Starfire made my insides ache.

I shook my head vigorously. I had to stop thinking about her. She was just a girl; a girl I shared very little time with. A girl that I knew very little about. A girl that I shouldn't give a damn about; a girl that surely didn't give a damn about me, but still, even with that truth looming over me, I still couldn't damn the image of her from my mind. I knew Slade's threats were very real and not something to take lightly, but I also knew that I was selfish. As little sense as it made to me, I wasn't going to be able to stay away from her no matter how hard I tried or how awful the threats were, and that was the thought that scared me most of all.

* * *

 **Robin's POV:**

"A tracking device." I repeated for the second time to my team. They were all just staring at me while lounging lazily on the couch. This was the first thing I had even spoken to any of them in a week, so I'm sure that's what the surprised looks on all of their faces was for.

"You've been locked away in your room for days, and that's all you've come up with? It took you that long to think of that?" Cyborg raised a questioning brow at me as he crossed his arms. Raven was staring at me from over the brim of her book with a ponderous gaze in her eye. I could tell she was contemplating my idea of placing a tracker on Red X the next time we went against him. Beast Boy was resting his cheek in the palm of one hand while precariously flipping through channels on the television behind me with the remote in his other. I had made him mute the sound when I came into the room, but he still stubbornly decided to pretend to not care what I had to say by continuing his search for a decent show. My eye twitched in agitation at the little green hero. I didn't dare glance at the other end of the couch where Starfire was sitting, for fear that the mere sight of her after our talk the other night would bring back that unbearable ache in my heart once more. However, I could feel her eyes boring into me from her spot on the couch. I stared at my team, waiting for more of a response.

"Actually, Cyborg, unlike you guys, I've been tirelessly searching through all of Jump City's cameras and databases for any sign of Red X. I've been through countless newspaper articles and every other document that had information about the thief but haven't been able to find anything on him that we didn't already know besides the idea that he may be working with a partner of sorts. I thought of the tracking device pretty early on in my search but wanted to finish running the software in case I could find him or his cohert through that. Unfortunately," I ran a tired hand through my wild hair, "He's elusive. There's no sign of him. So, our next move is the tracking device. Cyborg?" I turned my gaze back on my partially robotic friend, "Do you think you could make one that's small enough to go undetected once we get it on him?" Cyborg thought for a moment then frowned.

"Maybe you should, I don't know, lay off on this whole obsessive manhunt thing for a little bit. Take a few days off to rest...and shower. You look rough man." The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

I scowled, "I'll gladly take a few days off after we get him behind bars."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, continuing to click at the remote. "I agree with Cy. Take the day to relax. We can start working on your... whatever you said, tomorrow."

"Tracking device." I stated for the third time through gritted teeth. He clearly hadn't even been listening. "And no. I'm not taking a single day off until we've tracked him down and done what needs to be done." I enunciated my seriousness by punching one fist into the open palm of my opposing hand.

Cyborg shared a look with Raven before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Whatever you say, man. But honestly, this isn't healthy. If you aren't careful, this is going to turn out just as badly as your crazy obsession with catching Slade." This set me off.

"I'm not obsessed!" I flailed my arms in the air in pure rage. Perhaps my lack of sleep was what fueled my sudden outburst, but it was also the continued misplaced concern of everyone around me. I was sick of hearing everyone trying to tell me I was being ridiculous and obsessing when I was clearly only doing what needed to be accomplished in order to stop the present danger to our beloved city. "I'm doing my job. Something none of you seem to care much about doing."

Raven flashed me a rare look of sympathy. "Robin, we are your friends. And as your friends, we are worried about you. You haven't been eating, or sleeping, or taking care of yourself at all. In the condition you are currently in, I don't think it would be wise to face Red X head on."

"Dammit, I'm fine! I had a sandwich yesterday, I think... and so, I'm a little tired. I'll take a nap while Cyborg is working. I've already done all I can do from my computer at this point, so all that is left is to wait for Red X to make his next move, then strike. Okay?!" My voice was a higher pitch than normal and it sounded quite a bit louder than I intended, but I pretended not to notice as I turned back to my half-robotic companion. My arms crossed across my chest. I did not finally leave my room to socialize with my team about my health. My nostrils flared before releasing a heavy breath. "Now Cyborg, the tracking device?"

He, along with our fellow Titans, was staring at me with wide eyes at my outburst as well as my sudden and obvious change in character. After a moment to collect himself, he silently relented with a nod. "Great." I nodded back. "I need you to get it done as soon as possible since we don't know when he will strike next."

He flexed his fingers and flashed a confident smile, "I'll start on it now." He arose from his spot on the couch. I assume he was so desperate to begin just to get away from me. Just as he was about to head down to his workshop, Raven halted him.

"Wait, we need a plan. How are we going to get the device on X without him knowing or being suspicious? We need to decide on who is going to be in charge of placing it."

I crossed my arms across my chest once more, "I'll do it, of course."

Raven shook her head, "That's a terrible idea. He'd suspect something like that from you. He'll catch on before we'll even have a chance." She lowered her book to her lap, marking her place with a black bookmark before shutting it gently. "I think we should have Star do it."

My heart dropped. I stubbornly narrowed my eyes. "Not a chance."

Raven met my stare with an equally sinister one, "He's made it clear he doesn't want to hurt her. He flirts with her every time we run in with him; he's made it very clear that he is attracted to her. She might actually be able to get close enough to place the tracking device."

Beast Boy and Cyborg flashed each other mischievous grins. "Yeah, bro. Star can be all flirty with him and place the device while he's distracted." Beast Boy cupped his hands together beside his head and batted his eyelashes, "Maybe she can even give him a big ole smooch then tuck the tracker in his-"

"No." I stated in a stern tone before he could finish his horrible thought. Whose team were they on anyway?! I felt my blood boil at the memory of Starfire and Red X kissing on the roof and quickly had to fight down the bile rising in my throat at the grotesque scene. Both boys began laughing hysterically.

Cyborg wiped away an invisible tear once his laughter subsided. "What's the matter Robin? Jealous?" I felt my eye twitch in irritation.

I spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm not jealous. It's just a horrible idea."

Raven set her book beside her on the couch and stood up. "It's the best idea we have. If any of us get near him, he'll fight or run." Her eyes traveled over to where the alien still sat completely silent, my eyes followed hers to see Starfire staring blankly at her hands in her lap with what appeared to be a deep blush traced across her cheeks. My blood boiled hotter. "But not with her. He won't fight her and as long as we don't scare him off, he won't run from her either." She sighed. "I don't like the idea of Starfire doing anything intimate with a thief, either. But if she would at least, I don't know, flirt a little bit, just enough to throw him off guard long enough to get the device on his person, then we could finally find out where he's hiding. He may still have any of the stolen goods stockpiled somewhere which means we could also return them. And if you're correct about him having a partner, we can bring them in too."

I flexed my jaw. My teeth throbbed at the pressure I was applying to them. I hated that Raven was right. I hated even more that I was honestly contemplating such an idea. I guess it was true that Star and I weren't meant to be. I was honestly willing to use her to catch our man.

"I know you have not asked my opinion on the matter, but I accept the task."The sound of her voice was like a haunting melody to my ears; I hadn't heard her speak in days and I honestly hadn't realized how much I missed it. Or how thankful I was that she hadn't decided to leave after our heartbreaking talk. My heart pounded wildly at the angelic tone of her gentle voice. For the first time since our talk the other night, our eyes met. I saw a fire there that I had worried would have been snuffed out due to heartbreak. It wasn't the typical embers of life I saw flashing in them though; no, it was a fire of determination. I hated the idea that she was only offering herself up as a way to make up for the bank robbery incident. My eyes soften behind my mask to match the gentle tone of my voice.

"Star, you don't have to do this. I know you feel like you owe me-"

"I owe you nothing." By the steel in her voice, everyone turned a shocked stare in her direction. I'm guessing none of them were aware of what had occurred between us judging by their pure awe and confusion at the hateful tone the usually overly optimistic girl had spoken in. My mouth moved up and down, unsure of how to respond. She continued to meet my gaze. "I want to do this for the team. Not to make up for mistakes made in the past and certainly not for your forgiveness." After a long, awkward moment of silence, I relented. It was her choice, after all.

As much as it killed me to say it, I finally gritted out a, "Fine. But _no_ kiss." Beast Boy and Cyborg shared another one of their annoying, knowing side smirks with one another before her soft voice finally chimed in.

With my begrudging acceptance of the plan, Star flashed a small smile before that smile turned to a confused grimace. "Um, there is one problem..." She scratched the back of her head nervously. "If I must be a part of this plan, there is something we should discuss…" Everyone's eyes turned back to Starfire as she furrowed her eyebrows in discomfort. "I do not know what this _'flirt'_ means." A moment of silence passed before Beast Boy decided to try and explain the earthly term to our alien teammate.

"It's like when you hit on someone."

Her face contorted with even more confusion, "I believe that is already what we do to criminals, is it not?"

Beast Boy stared up at the ceiling while trying to ponder over a better way to explain it. "No, no. Not like actually _hitting_ him... I have an idea." The green Titan threw his arms up in the air excitedly.

"I can just show you! I can teach you: How to Flirt 101." He shouted. We all eyed him critically. He scoffed. "I know how to flirt, thank you very much."

Raven snorted, "Right. I don't think you are the best one to teach Starfire how to flirt. She'll just end up scaring him off." Beast Boy's eyebrows tugged together.

"Well, let's do the math here… there are only four of us that could potentially teach her how to do it." He pointed a finger at Raven, "I don't think _you've_ ever flirted with anyone in your life, so that's not going to work." He turned his critical gaze to me, "Robin isn't too keen on the idea of the plan, so he's not going to be much help. And honestly, we've all seen how he is around girls and I'm sad to say, man, you don't seem like you have much skill or... _finesse."_ I glared at him and crossed my arms across my chest with an annoyed huff. How did he know how I was with girls? I never even tried to get a girl in front of them! That doesn't mean I can't. Actually, Bruce was quite good with the ladies and managed to teach me a few tricks and trades about wooing females. Wait, did I just think ' _wooing?'_...yeah, maybe I shouldn't be the one in charge of this task. I turned my attention back to Beast Boy as he turned his gaze on our robotic friend. "Now then, Cyborg…well actually, he might be helpful." Beast Boy scratched at his chin and stared at Cyborg as if he were thinking rather critically about the idea. Cyborg grinned deviously before he shouted a 'boo-yah'. The two very unqualified boys jumped up and high-fived. Beast Boy turned his smile back to the alien, "Alright, Star, it's decided. Cyborg and I are going to teach you everything there is to know about the art of flirting." I rolled my eyes behind my mask. He threw his arm over Starfire's shoulders. "You'll be a pro before you know it. Heck, after all of this goes down, maybe you can use the skills we teach you to land you a _real_ boyfriend." My stomach lurched. Starfire? With a boyfriend? It may have been selfish to think that just because I turned her down that she would never date anyone else, but the thought was still unsettling. I recomposed myself quickly before anyone noticed my fallen expression.

"Okay, I guess everyone get to work. I'll do a bit more digging to see if I can find anywhere X might choose to strike next so we can have an upper hand. Cyborg, get to work on constructing that device. And boys?" I lifted an eyebrow, "Please take this seriously." Beast Boy held up his fingers in a boy scout salute before turning his attention back to Starfire. I couldn't help my wandering eyes from landing back on her as well. Though she was putting up a good front, I could tell that behind that mask of normalcy she was crestfallen, as I was. Thinking about how this plan could play out just made the thudding of my heart that more painful. Whether the plan worked or it didn't, I knew this wasn't going to be a fun endeavor for me to endure. My insides hurt at the thought of purposely placing Starfire in the arms of that bastard again, but I had no real argument against Raven's _brilliant_ plan. This strategy was becoming more and more unappealing the more I allowed myself to dwell on it.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Drop a review and let me know what you think so far! Next chapter is called, "Teach Me How to Flirt."**

 **Until then, love you all! Some of your reviews almost brought me to tears by the way! (: I love the love! Please keep it up and I'll continue to try to pump out chapters as fast as I can!**


	8. Chapter Seven: Teach Me How To Flirt

**Author's Note: Thank you so, so much for the encouraging words! They really get me motivated and actually excited about writing. (: Please, keep them coming!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: _Teach Me How to Flirt_

 **Red X's POV:**

Finally, some action. I've been bored out of my skull the past week. Sure, the liquor was a fun time waster, but I live for the adrenaline rush of my 'job.' The pure excitement that comes with the danger my career choice brings. Will I live? Will I die? Will I be flushed with cash by the end of the night? It's always an exciting venture. Most would think this kind of behavior or craving would call for a psychiatric evaluation, but I like to think it's just part of what makes me so damn intriguing. I slid into my suit instantly feeling my mood lift. "Alright, time for some fun." I smirked before pulling my mask over my face, tugging it into place beneath the collar of my suit.

I couldn't help my calculating mind from envisioning the alien beauty swooping in during my mission; those sparkling emerald eyes staring at me in the teasing way they did without even meaning to. "Stop." I muttered under my breath to myself. This was getting pathetic; seriously, ridiculously fucking pathetic. I shook my head back and forth, reminding myself that if she were to show up, that meant the whole team would also be in attendance. That meant having to see that stupid bird bitch. A scoff escaped my muffled lips. I clipped my arm piece adorned with a mini computer and that annoying dot that bleeped at me every time my _"master"_ was calling for a verbal slave salute. I was barely finished snapped my belt around my waist when it was already starting to flash. "Are you kidding me? Ugh," I rolled my eyes. Skulking across the room to snatch my cell off the bed, I pulled my mask up far enough to relieve my mouth of the cloth covering before answering. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Just making sure you hadn't forgotten your mission tonight. And that you planned to go in with a level-head."

I rolled my eyes once again, subduing a snarl. "Yes, father. All is well. I'm getting everything ready now."

"Good." He stated in that condescending tone of his. "The shipment should be arriving at eleven." The line went dead, thank God. I was not in the mood to talk to him right now. Granted, I was never really in the mood to hear that obnoxious voice of his, but right now I was even less so. I knew he would somehow have eyes on me at all times during my robbery, and if by the off chance the Titans did show up, I knew he would be paying extra attention to how I reacted to them; one in particular. And knowing myself, I wasn't sure if I would be able to follow his little guidelines he had selfishly set for my typical banter with Starfire. I grimaced.

Though I knew little about her; though I stupidly felt something so foreign and unusual for someone that was practically a stranger, I couldn't completely say I _didn't_ fear what Slade had planned to do to her if I disobeyed his orders. I couldn't convince myself that I didn't give a shit what he did to her, that flirting with her was still just simply a game to me and I wasn't beginning to actually care for the girl.

I tried to pry these lingering thoughts from my mind as I stuffed my equipment into the various pockets of my utility belt. The alarm I had set on my phone to alert me when it was time to start my trek down to the docks began chiming loudly, echoing off the lonely walls of my bedroom. "Time to go, X. Let's do this." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment, just listening to the obnoxious preset jingle tinging away at me. Once I felt like I had finally gotten my head on straight and was in the mindset I needed to be in for the mission ahead of me, I tugged my mask back down into place and smirked. "Let the game begin."

* * *

 **Robin's POV:**

 _(Earlier that day)_

My eye twitched in agitation. I knew BeastBoy teaching Star how to flirt wasn't going to go well. I just didn't imagine it would go _this_ badly. I was seated on the couch with one ankle resting lazily on the thigh of my opposing leg, watching the horrendous display before me.

"Alright, let's try again, Star. And remember, you have to come _towards_ me. That's the most important part, so you can get close enough to put the tracker on him. You keep forgetting that part." She nodded in understanding. "'Mkay, once again, just pretend I'm Red X…" Beast Boy took a step away from where she was standing, both positioned between me and the wall of windows behind them. "Yo, girl. What up?"

Starfire raised an eyebrow at him. She covered her mouth to hide her giggling at the ridiculous way Beast Boy was portraying our thief. "That is not the way that the Red X speaks." Her statement made my stomach flop. I didn't like her admitting she knew _'how he talks'_. I crossed my arms. I knew I looked like I was pouting, and maybe I was. I didn't like this plan. I didn't like that Beast Boy thought he was a better teacher for this than I would be. I didn't like that Star knew anything of Red X's mannerisms past his criminal behavior. I didn't like any of this at all.

The part I liked least was the single term that Starfire had laid out for the plan, if she was expected to be the one to accomplish it. She said she wanted to go alone, which I naturally fought against and thankfully had the other titans back me up. Unfortunately, she claimed that she would get embarrassed if we were watching and she was worried she would mess up the entire plan if we were there. Now, thanks to Raven, she will be going alone. Raven opted to be the 'voice of reason' yet again and stated that if we were going to put all this work into our plan, and if we really wanted it to work, we should listen to Starfire and let her do what she felt comfortable with.

I knew he wasn't going to hurt her; that wasn't my fear. My fears lied closer towards how that bastard would react to Starfire's advances in any way, really, but what if he reacted in the _worst_ way and tried to… I caught myself scowling at the mere thought. I wasn't a killer, but if he did something like _that_ to her, I was mentally and physically prepared to murder him.

I turned my attention from my inner thoughts back to the goofball teacher as he once again messed up another practice round by using a phony deep voice that made Star laugh. He had been wasting so much time with this by using various voices and different accents, over-acting, and just making this whole thing into one big joke. His childishness is the reason I decided to monitor his so called 'lesson' tonight.

I growled, "Just talk normal, Beast Boy. We don't have time for this. It's getting late." My eyes ventured to the darkness outside of the windows behind the two standing titans.

Beast Boy waved his hands in front of him. "Okay, fine! Sorry, sheesh." He let out a breath, as if showing that he was starting over. "Hey, beautiful."

Starfire cupped her hands behind her back and took a few steps towards him. "Why, hello, handsome." Bile rose in the back of my throat.

Beast Boy took a step towards the alien princess and grinned, crossing his arms as if he were trying to be cool. "What brings you to these parts?"

Star seemed to think for a moment, trying to remember the few pet names and various words Beast Boy had attempted to teach her. That alone took an hour longer than it should have. "You are breaking the law. You are the naughty child." She batted her eyelashes. I will say, while this was going to have an unfortunate outcome, it was quite entertaining to witness.

The green titan slapped his face. "No, no, Star. I told you to call him 'baby'."

She placed a finger to her lower lip, lifting a confused brow. "Is that not what a child is?"

"Well," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, yeah. But when it comes to flirting, calling someone 'baby' is not the same as calling someone a child. It's… like a term of endearment, I guess. Baby, good. Child, bad."

Her eyebrow rose higher. "Are you positive of this, Beast Boy? It seems rather insulting."

I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath watching Beast Boy squirm as he thought of how to explain it. "Just…. Just… trust me, okay? There's really no way for me to explain it."

She repositioned her hand behind her back, and I could see her fingers nervously fumbling behind her back. "I see. I trust you. May we try again?"

The green boy nodded, stepping back into place. "Hey, beautiful."

Starfire stepped to him once again. "Why, hello, handsome." Her smile fell, "Why is it that I am insinuating he has some hands? I 'm very aware that he has two." She's _very_ aware that he has two? She's _very_ aware of this? My blood boiled. I felt the twitch of my brow beginning once more like a nervous tick. I tried to take in a few deep breaths through my nose to calm myself. Nope, not a fan of this. Not a fan of this at all.

Beast Boy let out an exasperated groan. "Staaar," He dragged out her name to show his growing frustration. "It has nothing to do with the amount of hands he has! It means you think he's attractive. It's a way to compliment a man's looks. Kind of like how beautiful or pretty is for girls." Her eyes widened and she smiled once more.

With a nod, she giggled. "I apologize, Beast Boy. I do not mean to be so frustrating. Let us start again."

He threw his head back, mouth open, and his shoulders slouched as he took an exaggerated step back into position. "Alright. Hey, beautiful." I could tell he was regretting volunteering for this job by the lack of enthusiasm he spoke with now. They had been at this part of her 'training' for about an hour or two now.

He began the day with a simple explanation as to why she should use the method of flirting as to get close enough to our target by both throwing him off by her sudden interest and to seem less suspicious when she got up close to him to place the device. Then, we discussed different placements of the device. Beast Boy, loving to just press my buttons, immediately suggested placing it in a certain delicate area between the criminal's legs, which I quickly dismissed and thudded him on the head for such a suggestion. I begrudgingly agreed to placing it on his back if she were able to get him in an embrace. If that failed, she would have to either try placing it on his the chest of his suit or somewhere on the backside of his sleeve.

Cyborg had the device almost completed and was busy tweaking it, but assured us that it would be small enough that X shouldn't see it. One side was to be slightly magnetic so that Star wouldn't have to worry about dropping it or holding it, and it would instead stay in place against the ring of her sleeve until the other side was touched to the material of his suit. This side would hold through some kind of scientific… mechanical something that I didn't quite understand through Cyborg's animated, technical explanation of his creation.

After all of this was discussed, Beast Boy sat down with Star and began going through ideas of "sweet names and hot things to say to him." I skipped that lecture, not wishing to fully involve myself in this cringe-worthy process. They spent the better half of the afternoon going over sayings and words that she could use, depending on where the conversation ventured. After that, the practice finally began. It was rocky at first, and from what I've seen since they began, it hasn't gotten any better. If X was to conduct a robbery any time soon, we were ill prepared and I worried our plan would fail… miserably. But I couldn't say I would be too devastated if we had to think of another way to get the tracker placed. A way that involved a swift punch in the face from me before gently attaching it to the bastard's forehead.

"Why, hello, the attractive male."

I saw Beast Boy's jaw flex in frustration at the poor improvising from Star's side, but he ignored it and continued their role playing. "What brings you to these parts?"

"You are breaking the law…. Baby." She was hesitant to say the pet name, but at least we were moving past this part of the scene, finally.

Beast Boy got back into character, realizing they were moving forward and crossed his arms. He transferred his weight to one leg in a leisurely manner. "You like bad boys?"

Starfire smiled, taking a few more steps towards the pretend criminal. "Oh yes. Very much so. It is the sexy." She was now standing right in front of Beast Boy. His cheeks flushed red by the close proximity but he continued to play along. "Well I'm pretty bad, baby."

"How bad?" She lowered her voice slightly, to a throaty murmur that made my own cheeks flush. She rested her hands on his chest. Beast Boy visibly gulped.

"I, um…. Forgot my line."

Starfire clapped joyfully, "Well I believe this was quite successful, yes? Am I doing well?"

Beast Boy's voice cracked, "Uh, yeah. Really well. Just… use that voice. That should, uh, definitely throw him off." His voice sounded as if it were still going through puberty, rising an octave on a few syllables before dropping down to his normal voice. Star stepped away from him, cupping her hands behind her back innocently once again, "Should we try it again?"

Beast Boy's cheeks flushed with color yet again. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Um-"

Before the flustered boy had a chance to respond the alarm began blaring wildly indicating something was not right in our city. I jumped from my place on the couch, rushing to the computer. My fingers moved swiftly across the keys to find the cause for the jarring disturbance. My heart dropped. "No time. It's him."

I hesitantly turned to meet Star's stare, "You ready?" The look of pure determination on her face certainly helped ease my discomfort for this plan.

"I am. Do not worry, Robin. I can do this."

* * *

 **Red X's POV:**

It was too easy. I knew there had to be a catch. They had to know I was coming or something. I made it down to the docks around 10:45, fifteen minutes before the shipment would be arriving so I could get myself in position for my assault. The shipment arrived about five minutes earlier than planned and I smiled, listening to the boat horn as it came into shore.

The armored vehicle that would be carrying the precious cargo pulled up shortly after and rotated itself so that the backdoors would swing open towards the dock. I watched four armed guards hop out. Only four? This city never learned. Two positioned themselves in front of the car, holding their rifles and the other two went to the back of the truck, opening the doors, then also positioning themselves on either side of the open doors. They were all glancing around, guns ready, as if they were really prepared for me. I rolled my eyes: foolish.

It took the ship seven minutes to get docked and for the crew to begin carrying the delicate packages down the ramp. I could hear them bitching to each other about frivolous topics such as where they were going to be staying for the night, who was getting laid, which bar they wanted to go to, blah, blah, blah. I waited patiently until they got closer to the armed car before I slid out from my position and rushed silently towards the front of the vehicle.

I swiftly threw out two X's that landed over the mouths of the two guards. These were soon followed by my enlarging X's that turned to a goopy solid, sticking them to the hood of the truck. Before the second round of guards had a chance to realize what was happening, I threw a smoke bomb over the truck to land between my next round of guards. The moment it went off, I sprinted around the vehicle towards my next two victims.

The smoke threw them off guard long enough for me to get close and disarm them with one motion: my foot connected with the torso of one while my fist hit the second in the jaw. I grabbed the rifle from the second one's hands and threw it away, turning to the one that I kicked. My fist connected with his nose, knocking him backwards into the side of the truck. I grabbed his gun and threw it behind my back as well. "Too easy."

This wouldn't take long now. Without even turning around, I could tell what kind of commotion was happening behind me. The two crew members currently carrying the crate of Xenothium were shouting wildly about my presence. I turned towards them and chuckled. "Hey, boys. I'll be taking that," I pointed a finger at the crate now set on the pavement between them, "with me. 'Preciate you delivering it. Now give me just a sec."

Before dealing with these two annoyances, I pulled out the specialty weapons Slade had blessed me with that released an almost toxic gas that knocked out those that breathed in enough of it. I rushed past the two men by the crate and palmed one of the green orbs in my right hand, holding the other five in my left. I pressed the activation button on the side of the first one and with as much force as I could muster, I threw it onto the ship. In quick procession, I continued clicking buttons and tossing them one at a time at various spots on the ship to render all other crew members unconscious.

Slade stated that these orbs continued to release their noxious gases for ten minutes after activation, but the effects would last for about thirty minutes.

Once I was out of orbs, I turned my attention back to the remaining crew members. Both men were pretty built, but instead of trying to fight me in hand-to-hand combat, they each pulled pistols from the hidden holsters at their sides and began firing at me. I jumped and dodged the bullets with ease.

Unfortunately, my cockiness got the better of me. I misjudged where they would be firing next and managed to get grazed in the bicep by a lone bullet. "Shit! Ow! Fuck!" I shouted before ducking behind a pile of metal beams stacked delicately to my right. The bullets continued flying in my direction, pinging off my metal barrier. "Alrighty then." I was pissed now. My arm stung and I allowed it to hang uselessly at my side, using my right arm to dig in a compartment of my belt for something sinister to throw back at them.

My gloved fingers wrapped around a flash bomb, so I opted for that at the moment, knowing my assailants were closing in on me. I flung it backwards over the steel beams, covering one ear with my good hand and tucking the other against my shoulder to shield them from the sound of the blast. It went off, so I sprinted from my hiding place, rushing at each of the crew members individually, throwing kicks and punches in all directions, landing the majority of them, while my other arm still lay limp at my side, stinging every time I swung my other arm from merely being jostled; this sucked. My victims fell in an unconscious heap at my feet and for a moment I felt overwhelming victory. It only lasted a moment, however.

As I was walking towards my prize, I heard her voice. "Why, hello…baby." My heart stopped. Did it stop? Am I dead? Did that bullet actually hit me in the fucking heart and I just didn't realize it? I had to look down and feel around my torso for any extra wounds to be sure; nope, death free. I slowly turned around to face the woman that had been continuously haunting my mind all week. She was smiling at me. Not only that, but did she just call me baby? I'm hallucinating. Awesome. Not a good time for a trip. I really shouldn't have lost enough blood to be hallucinating, but I decided to just go with it. I threw my shoulders back, which was a mistake considering the burning shot that just rushed through every vein in my left arm. Thankfully, she couldn't see me wince from behind my mask.

"Hey there, beautiful." I glanced back at the crate behind us, then at the two unconscious crew members lying unconscious between my prize and me, before turning back to her. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

She giggled, taking a few steps towards me. "Why is that? I do believe I like that you are a disobedient boy."

I subdued the growing laughter bubbling up in my gut. Was she attempting to…. flirt with me? Well this was certainly a hallucination. I'm losing it. I cleared my throat to cover up the fact that I was trying not to laugh. "I think the term you are looking for is a 'bad boy.'" Her smile fell and she immediately began rubbing her upper arm nervously.

"Oh, I… I am still not entirely schooled in the way of earthen languages." Her voice alerted me that I had made her feel self-conscious, so I quickly backtracked.

"No, no, you weren't wrong. And besides, I kind of like being called a 'disobedient' boy instead. It makes it sound more… _sophisticated."_ That thankfully brought the tilt of her lips back. She dropped her hand from her arm and took a slow step towards me.

"So…" She was still walking towards me with exaggerated steps. I noted the sway of her hips and the contradicting innocence in her eyes; it was all quite intoxicating. "Just how disobedient are you?" Her voice dropped to a husky tone that sent shivers down my spine. What was up with her tonight? This was not the same girl I listened to only a little over a week ago confess her feelings for her fellow titan.

Regardless, I smirked again behind my mask, watching her intently. I took a step towards her as well. "Do you want to find out?"

Her eyes shifted slightly, as if that response had caught her off-guard, but she quickly recovered. "That depends. Do you wish to show me?"

Fuck. There was that husky tone again. Those partially hooded eyes enunciated the full length of her long lashes. And I could detect a slight tint on her cheeks. The fingers of one of her hands played nervously at the hem of her skirt. I took another step towards her; we weren't too far from each other now, but there was still a few feet between us. I let out a dark chuckle, "Oh, honey, I don't think you could handle that."

Starfire shrugged her shoulders, nibbling her lower lip. God, I wanted her. Her eyes widened as if she realized something and at the same moment, those fiddling fingers started moving more vigorously at her side like a nervous habit.

"Oh, um, you are also the handsome." She glanced away, mumbling to herself barely loud enough for me to hear, "I forgot to say that." I didn't even try to hide my laughter this time.

"You forgot to say that? What, did you practice this or something?" The color left her face and her smile fell. Wait, had she really practiced this? This was absolutely adorable. My craving for her seemed to only grow stronger at the thought of her planning out such an interaction with _me_ of all people. My insides tightened.

"Handsome, huh?" I ran a hand over the head of my mask, thinking of the design it held to shield my identity. "You do realize I'm not just a skull behind this mask, right? That this isn't actually what my face looks like?" I pointed to the skull pictured on the front of my mask.

Her smile faltered slightly before she took another step towards me; leaving only about two feet between us now. "I would not know that. You refuse to let me see you without it."

A dry chuckle left my lips as I fought the urge to grip my wound. "I only let ladies that aren't dating bird-brained superheroes see me without the mask, doll face."

She bit her lower lip a second time and my god, if it wasn't one of the sexiest things I've ever seen, until I saw her eyes dart to the side with a sorrowful sheen glossing over them. "I… am not with Robin." I know it makes me a horrible human being, but my heart did an excited flip at the sound of the sadness in her voice. Maybe their talk didn't go over so well after all.

"Oh, is that right?" I started to cross my arms until the pulsing pain reminded me that wasn't really a great move on my part. I discreetly let my shit arm fall limp at my side again. "So, uh, does that mean you talked to him about your… _feelings?"_

 _Stop this now; he's watching. Slade's always watching. Shut this down immediately, X. Get your crate, and get the hell out of here._ My brain was practically screaming at me that I needed to end this conversation and leave, but I _had_ to know. It would drive me to insanity if I let this moment escape. Her eyes fell to stare at her feet. She let out an inaudible sigh. "Yes. I did. He did not reciprocate."

I wanted to be happy. I wanted to feel triumph; like I had won, just because he hadn't. I knew he cared about Starfire, I knew the first time I ever encountered the titans; it wasn't like he hid it well. So why had he turned her down? Pride? Fear? I didn't know, and while I was yearning for answers, I couldn't manage to ask the forlorn girl anything further on the subject. Not right now, at least. Because the moment she said it, her eyes welled up with unshed tears that she quickly began wiping at with the back of her palm to prevent them from falling. The shakiness of her voice made my knees shiver with it.

Before I had time to register my own actions, I was walking towards her until the small space between us was closed and my arms were wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. I placed one palm to the back of her head and the other rested against the small of her back. "I'm sorry." I meant it. I didn't want to, but I did. Why this girl had this effect on me was still confusing and senseless, but I couldn't stop it. She was a hurricane roaring through my body, wrecking my insides: my mind, my thoughts, my soul, all without warning. Her body stiffened in my arms before she slowly relaxed, wrapping her own arms around my waist and burying her face in my chest.

"You were right." This hurricane was twisting my heart, wrenching it into a distorted blob of blood and arteries. But I understood, even before she solidified her meaning. "I will never be more important than catching you. I should have been aware of this after what happened with Slade… but I had hoped that maybe…" She let the words fall away into silence and I could tell she was crying silent tears into my chest. Her arms tightened as she allowed herself to let go of the tears I assumed she had been bottling up for a while now.

That bastard really cared so much about a petty thief like me that he gave up eternal bliss with a gorgeous super-chick? I held her tighter, ignoring the throbbing ache in my left bicep. I had no words that would heal her, and honestly, even if there was something I could say to cure her heartache, I was at a loss of what they would be. All I could do was hope that I could hold her tight enough to squeeze the agony out of her body and release it into the late night breeze. I don't know how much time had passed with us standing together like that; I wasn't counting. I was instead enjoying the intoxicating warmth she possessed. The smell of lavender and vanilla flooded my nostrils as I stroked the aroma from her fiery locks.

She shuddered as she let out a deep sigh. "Thank you." Her voice was muffled by my chest, but I knew she understood what I was trying to do. We stood like that for a moment longer before she hesitantly unwrapped her arms from my waist and pulled out of my embrace to stand a few inches from me. She once again wiped away at her wet eyes until all evidence of her tears had vanished. She stared at the front of my suit with a grimace. "I apologize for soaking your suit." A humorless chuckle escaped me.

"Don't worry about it. I usually dry clean it but, you know, a good rinse never hurts." She smiled at me. That smile seemed to slow the raging storm inside of me and release my heart from its uncomfortable grasp. I didn't know if that was a good sign or if I was now in the eye of the storm. I cleared my throat, intending to lighten the mood. "But just so you know, you weren't wrong." She lifted a brow at me in misunderstanding. I smirked behind my mask. "I _am_ stunningly handsome, and maybe one of these days, you'll just be lucky enough to see for yourself." Her smile widened; any sign of her sorrow from only moments ago seemed to vanish.

"I would very much like that. I have told you so before." Her eyes were locked with where mine were hidden behind my mask, before they slowly drifted down to the hole in my arm. With a gasp, she covered her mouth. "You are injured!" She reached out a delicate hand to grasp my forearm, gently tugging my arm out towards her so she could better examine it. I winced at the pain from the movement, jerking slightly away from her. She looked up at me with a worried stare.

"It's fine, Star." I reassured. "Really, once I get my Xenothium then I can go patch it up." Her eyebrows tugged together. I placed my good hand on her shoulder, "Really, it's not deep. 'tis a flesh wound." I smiled but she didn't. She still stared at the wound with a concerned expression. "Aw, look at you. You're worried about me. I think someone is falling for the 'disobedient boy' after all." That got a small smile from the alien beauty. I finally realized something was missing, glancing around us into the darkness. "Where's your team at, anyway? They should've came in and ruined this sweet, romantic moment by now."

Starfire flashed me an uneasy stare. "They are um, they are not here." That seemed odd to me. "I came alone. I heard about the delivery of the Xenothium, and I assumed that perhaps I would see you here." Part of me was thrilled. The other part of me felt…heavy. There was no other way for me to describe it. Robin turned her down, now suddenly she was interested in me? Like a rebound? I frowned, stepping away from her and taking a step closer to my crate.

"Why did you want to see me all of a sudden?"

"I have rather enjoyed our conversations the previous times we have seen one another."

I scoffed, snuffing out the blossoming flames of hope that she could actually be mine. "More like, your precious Bird Boy turned you down so now you think you should have a go with me?"

Hurt swam in those emerald pools. I turned away from her, stalking off towards my crate. The guards would be coming to soon, and I'd rather not deal with them again right now. "That is not true, X. That has nothing to do with my being here." I scoffed again, hoping she would understand without me having to argue with her further on the matter. "No, stop this. I do not want-"

"Star, go home. It's late. Take some time to figure things out for yourself. Maybe after you get over Robin, you'll realize how ridiculous it would be for us to be together." I could feel her gaze on my back, but I refused to turn back around. I worked at the lid of the crate with my one good arm, but found such a task to be almost impossible with one hand. "Dammit…" I muttered under my breath. Without a word, Starfire walked over, gently moved me aside, then without any obvious effort, yanked the lid from the rest of the container, tossing it to the ground with a hollow thud. "Thanks." I grabbed up all of the cylinders of Xenothium, stuffing them into the sack I had stored in one of the compartments of my belt.

"Please, forgive me." Her voice sounded so innocent, so soft. Her words were laced in regret. I had no chance to respond. She was already walking off into the night. I frowned watching her outline vanish into the darkness of the night. Moments later, that fun little button started blinking at me. I answered the call with a shaky hand. I was worried Slade was going to bring up what had happened with the lone titan.

"Did you retrieve the element for your suit, X?"

"Yeah. Enough to last a long time."

"That's good news. You'll be needing it. Now, drop those off, then come meet me. I have some plans we need to discuss. I figured, to celebrate your fortunate evening, I would meet you at Paddy's, are you familiar?" A bar? Slade… was going to meet me… at a bar?

"Uh, yeah. I know the place."

"Good. See you soon, X." I gave a curt nod to no one in particular before hanging up the call and hurrying away from the scene.

During my trek back to the apartment, I tried to shake off the ending of the conversation between me and Starfire. I instead tried to focus on what good came from this venture. Thinking about it, what a wonderful evening I've had: I got the Xenothium, I had some alone time with the gorgeous alien that's been haunting my thoughts all week, I didn't have to deal with the other annoying titans in order to do so, found out birdbrain is out of the picture, and Slade was actually in a good mood for once. A small smile tugged at my lips. Luck was definitely on my side, for now.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you so much for your continued support! Please let me know what you think and/or that you are still hanging in there with me! I'm trying to crank these chapters out as fast as I can, but as most of you know, sometimes life gets in the way and makes it hard to find time to write. I'm hoping this chapter was alright... It's super late, I'm exhausted because I came home and finished this after a long day at work and little sleep last night, so please be kind!**

 **Love you all! (: I hope to hear from you guys. 3**

 **-InconsciousSin.**


	9. Chapter Eight: Blood Stain

**Author's Note: It's been a while and I'm so sorry for that. It's been chaotic lately, but I'm still here! This is kind of a short update, but I wanted to post something so you all knew I wasn't giving up on this story.**

* * *

Chapter Eight: _Blood Stain_

 **Robin's POV:**

My hamstring was burning as I continued twitching it in agitation. My fidgeting was only adding to my anxiety, but it was a nervous tick that I couldn't help but allow to proceed until the alien beauty's safe return. I had no intention of actually allowing Star to meet up with X alone. I had it all plotted out in my mind: I would let her leave, then secretly slip out after her without the other titans' knowledge. Unfortunately, Raven anticipated this, and immediately had Cyborg 'babysit' my every move after Starfire had left the tower. I growled, I pouted, I yelled the logic that was ambushing my brain in the hope that they would understand my worry and allow me to trail our fellow titan to ensure her safety. My tantrum had the opposite effect. Raven calmly crossed her arms, blocking my path with her petite frame and a glare that would terrify Death himself. "She's not weak." She stated. "She's a powerhouse of strength and alien abilities." She claimed. "If something goes wrong, she can alert us with her communicator or fight him off herself." She reasoned. Her lips twisted upward into a barely visible smirk, "Besides, I'm pretty sure the only thing she has to worry about is her flirting working a little _too_ well." My jaw flexed. This woman was practically forcing Star into the arms of our enemy. I tried to stalk past her, but she instantly used a black blob of witchcraft to thrust me against the couch, using it to hold me there until I, in her words, "Was ready to behave."

At this point, my arms were crossed tightly across my chest, my leg angrily bouncing up and down. It had been about thirty minutes at this point. The tracker indicated about ten minutes ago that Star had reached the docks. "She did it. She got him." Cyborg stated as he stared at the map on the screen. The blinking red dot was moving a lot slower now, indicating that the target was walking and apparently none the wiser to our scheme. My spirits instantly lifted. The tracker was in place. Star was heading back to the tower and I was finally going to catch that sly crook. I felt the corner of my lips tilt up in triumph. All of my nerves seemed to relax instantly knowing the plan was finally in motion. The unwelcome images of Star and Red-X and every horrid scenario that my imagination had conjured up during her leave were finally halted and my mind was instead consumed with thoughts on how to go about our next step to finally arrest the thief. My leg was finally able to rest and allow the stinging muscles a break from my constant twitching.

"Looks like 'Flirting 101' was a success!" Beast Boy's smug voice carried my gaze over to where he stood, arms crossed, staring up at the screen. "I told ya I was a great teacher." Raven snorted. I watched her eyes travel to the ceiling in annoyance. She chose to remain silent, though I could practically see the sarcastic remark floating on the tip of her tongue.

"What's our next move?" Cyborg asked, turning in his chair to meet my gaze.

I clenched my fists. Should we wait? Should we allow the tracker to stay in place for a few days to see where X has been going and figure out his pattern? I feared that leaving the tracker on him for longer than necessary would only lead to its discovery and yet another dead end in our hunt. Should we wait until the dot is resting in one place, indicating that he was at his hole in the ground or hideout so that we know where he's been hiding? Or was it best to wait until Star returned and immediately seek him out to prevent any faults in our plot? It was decided then. The best option was the one with the least chance of failure. "When Star gets back, we'll make our move." The team nodded in agreement. I continued to work through a plan of attack in silence.

* * *

 **Starfire's POV:**

I should not feel so much guilt, yet it plagued every one of my stomachs. Red X had trusted me and I betrayed him. I used his comforting embrace as an excuse to get close enough to slip the device on his person, knowing full well that this device would lead my friends to his location and ultimately his downfall. The thought was agonizing. The idea of him behind bars in a prison somewhere was a terrorizing thought that only served to cloud my mind from the logic behind _why_ he would be sentenced to a jail cell. I could not help but ponder why I was feeling so much guilt and sorrow over the thought of the criminal finally being arrested for his crimes. Was it because I knew he was not as horrid as Robin has created him to be in his mind? Is it simply because he listened and comforted me in times of distress? Or was I truly beginning to fall for the thief as he himself stated tonight?

My heart fluttered in my chest at the thought. I hardly knew him, there was no way I could have any kind of attachment to someone that was not only basically a stranger but also a criminal; I hadn't even seen his face.

A sad sigh escaped my lips as I hurried back to the tower. I could not dwell on these thoughts anymore; what's done is done. My friends would be awaiting my return until they moved in on our _target_ which was both comforting and terrifying. I wasn't sure I would be able to keep myself together if I were present for Red X's arrest. I could see it now: the team rushes in, busting down the doors, blasting through the windows. Red X staring at us in shock before turning his gaze to me with a clear look of betrayal only barely hidden behind that mask. Or would he even still be in his suit when they would arrive? Then I would be not only forced to swallow the lump of guilt from the idea of the horror on his face, but I'd have to witness it as well. What if we tracked him down, and he was at home with a family when we came to take him away? Kids? Siblings? Parents? My heart couldn't handle these horrendous ideologies. I could feel myself losing flight but luckily, being trapped in my head for the entire venture back to the tower, I found I was already on the shore of our solitary island before my ability to soar completely evaded me. I sprinted towards the door and rushed inside, all while still pleading with my heart and my head to vanquish these ill-gotten images of the future consequences someone was soon to endure at the fault of my actions.

The moment I entered the tower, Robin was rushing over to me. "Are you alright? Did he try to hurt you?" The worry was evident in his voice which was somewhat comforting. I had honestly expected anger for going against his wishes and meeting with the criminal alone. So seeing no anger in his features was quite a relief.

I forced a small smile, "I am fine. He did not hurt me." It was a lie. I knew what Robin was implying though, so my response wasn't a complete lie. He was concerned Red X had tried to physically harm me, which of course, he had not. The ache in my heart, however, was a different story.

Robin flashed me a genuine smile before his gaze fell to where Red X's dried blood was smeared across my upper arm from when we had embraced and his wound had cried in response. His eyes narrowed. He unconsciously reached out a hesitant hand towards the blood smear and I instantly flinched away from his touch, covering the stain with my opposing hand. I couldn't meet his gaze. "What did he do?" His voice was a harsh whisper. I could only imagine the rampant thoughts that were running through his head as he imagined where the blood could have came from.

"It is not my blood." That was obviously not a better answer. His hands flexed into fists at his sides.

"Who's is it then?" That harshness was still thick in his voice and I couldn't help the uncomfortable shiver that racked through my body. When I didn't answer right away, He murmured my name to show me that he wasn't going to let me get away with out an explanation.

I gripped my upper arm tighter. "He was shot by one of the guards while attempting to steal the Xenothium shipment..." I took in a shaky breath. I felt hot under his stern gaze, though I still could not force myself to look up at him. "I...had to get close enough to him to place the tracker onto his person. In doing so, the blood from his wound must have rubbed off onto my arm." Robin took in a sharp breath. I knew what I had just confirmed for him. I had honestly hoped that the details of my mission could remain anonymous but that hope had just died. His hands were still balled into fists, now so tightly that they were trembling slightly.

"You...you got close enough for him to bleed all over you? What does that mean? That you let that bastard-"

Raven quickly intervened before Robin's rage could escalate by stepping between us and laying a gentle hand against Robin's chest, silencing him. "The mission was successful, Robin. Star is back and she's safe and we now have an actual chance of catching this guy." She glanced over at me and spared me a sympathetic smile. "You did good, Star." I should have been thrilled. I should have been able to soar into the air and clap my hands excitedly knowing I alone was able to assist our team. Instead, Raven's praise only served to make me feel that much more guilty. The acid in my stomach bubbled and the weight in my torso was growing to an unbearable degree. I couldn't manage to fake a smile so I simply averted my gaze and nodded in response. I heard Robin let out a shaky breath. He ran a hand through his untamed hair before turning away from us.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's just get this over with." He stalked off towards the door but stopped short to glance at me from over his shoulder, "Go get yourself cleaned up." His tone was full of disgust, which only served to make me feel worse. Why had I volunteered myself for this task? Something so simple had caused me to lose both Robin and Red X. I felt hot tears begging to fall but I managed to keep them at bay. I had no time to dwell on the misery that was slowly consuming me. It was already done. I felt numb and confused. I muttered an, "I'll be quick," before rushing from the room to go to the bathroom so I could clean off the blood stain from my arm and to prevent my team from seeing the tears welling up in my eyes. As I was exiting the living room, I heard Robin growl before his fist met the metal of the door. "Time to finally bring this bastard down."

* * *

 **Red X's POV:**

I had dropped the Xenothium at the apartment, not even really bothering to hide it or lock it away just yet. I knew Slade wouldn't appreciate being kept waiting for too long and didn't really want to spend a bar date with a crabby psychopath for the rest of the night. I had already patched up my bullet wound and popped a few pain killers to relieve my arm of the unbearable sting. It had only taken me about ten minutes to get from my place of residence to the bar, which was the only upside of living in the shit part of the city: I was pretty much in walking distance of the strip that was home to every low-end bar and strip joint in town. Upon entering Paddy's, I could easily spot Slade through the haze of smoke and dim-lighting at the far left corner of the room, sitting at a table away from everyone else. He nodded me over.

"Hey," I tugged the chair out and took a seat across from him. Now staring at the masked villain before me, I was wondering how he was planning on drinking with that metal contraption over his face, but chose not to voice my concern; not that he really even gave me the opportunity.

"X, glad you could make it." His voice betrayed him, indicating that he may not be particularly thrilled to see me; not that he seemed like the type to ever be excited to see anyone. His fingers intertwined in front of his face and he leaned forward. "Are you going to order anything?"

I threw my good arm lazily over the back of the chair. "That depends, you buyin'?" His one eye narrowed at me before dropping to examine the sloppy bandaging around the arm I still allowed to hang limp at my side.

"I see your mission wasn't without interference."

I scoffed, "Just grazed. Nothing serious."

He tilted his head to the side, which was somehow very menacing. "I would have thought a bullet grazed your skull considering your memory loss."

It was my turn to tilt my head. Only unlike Slade, I knew I looked more like a confused child when I did such an action; how this man had the ability to make every look and action appear so intimidating was an art form, really. "What are you babbling about?"

"Now I know you aren't that stupid, Xavier. Wrack that thick brain of yours and try to think why it is I would assume such an injury to account for your lack of judgement."

I was seriously not in the mood for this. Exhaustion, maybe? I hadn't had much sleep lately. Or was it that I popped too many Tylenol? Or maybe it was because I was so goddamn _sober_ that I wasn't quite registering what this nutcase was going on about? I scratched the back of my head in a half ass attempt to show that I was trying to figure out what he was trying to relay to me. After a few moments of silence aside from the blaring jukebox on the opposite side of the room or the obnoxious drunks rattling on in the background, I finally let out an audible sigh. "I got nothin'."

His palms slammed suddenly on the surface between us causing me to jolt in my chair. "The girl! The titan! Did you think I wouldn't find out? Did you honestly believe I wouldn't know if you disobeyed me?" My heart felt like it was suddenly the weight of lead, falling like an anvil to my toes. "Oh."

"Oh?" He mocked. "Oh yes. I saw _everything._ It's unfortunate for the girl that you can't seem to follow simple instruction."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing yet again at him. His not-so-subtle threat had me thoroughly unnerved, but I refused to let it show. I feigned nonchalance, "If you saw everything, then you saw how we left things." My fake nonchalance turned to genuine disdain as I muttered, "I turned her away. Told her to go home." I was staring off towards the bar, waiting for the bartender to glance in my direction so I could signal for a drink. I knew if I met Slade's piercing gaze, I would falter beneath it. The silence hung heavy between us for a few beats longer than I found to be comforting.

"I saw that display as well."

"Good. Then we don't need to discuss it further." I was growing irritated. Irritated with Slade for butting in where he wasn't needed. Irritated with this damn bartender for his lack of attention. Irritated at the continuous ache in my arm that Tylenol wasn't strong enough to stave off.

"What will you do the next time you see her?" His tone was laced with humor, as if he found it entertaining that I had no choice but to avoid her whenever possible in order to avoid the mighty hand of Slade.

My fingers twitched, itching to sock this bastard in his face, but deciding against the idiotic idea. "No clue." I spoke through clenched teeth.

"Well, you better figure it out." I chanced a glance at the man sitting across from me to find that his attention was now on the doors behind me. I slowly turned to follow his gaze to land on four of my least favorite people and our current topic of conversation all standing in the entrance of the bar, staring at us in pure horror.

Blood pumped thick in my veins, pounding in my ears. It didn't take long for my mind to register the cause for the looks on their faces. Slade is here; so they now know that Slade is alive, and that I'm working with him. Not only those fun facts, but all of these people absolutely despise me and I'm sitting here all hopped up on acetaminophen with one bum arm and the exhaustion of a single mother visible in the bags under my veiled eyes, meaning I'm in no state to fight them all off. I looked into the eyes of the ruby haired vixen standing slightly behind the robot and saw so many emotions there that I could barely sort through them all: anger, hurt, horror, fear, and worst of all, disappointment. My heart plummeted. My jaw flexed. "Well…. Shit." This was not good, on so many levels.

* * *

 **Author's Note: The next chapter will be the confrontation, obviously. I was going to just incorporate it into this chapter, but decided against it so I could give you guys an update sooner. Again, so sorry for the long absence. Please leave me some feedback so I know there's still someone out there following this story with me.**


End file.
